The Perseverance of the Galaxy
by CTMGame
Summary: After the victory over the the Reapers through the Crucible, Commander Shepard has to come to terms with the decisions he made in the past as the galaxy rebuilds. I took a very optimistic stance to the Destroy ending, but (I hope) stayed within canon.
1. -- Salvation: Unto Hell --

_Make your choice._

Shepard stared at the construct before him. The cycle had to be ended. Forever. If there was to be peace, he would have to let it be. Merge Synthetics and Organics. He stepped forwards toward the beam and got ready to jump in. To give up himself, for the galaxy.

_The only hope of survival is to join with them. My way is the only way any of us will survive. I'm forging an alliance between us and the Reapers, between organics and machines. Look at me. I am your future. Flesh and Steel united, with the strengths of both and the weaknesses of none._

No! A past vision of Saren flashed before his eyes. This is what he would have done. Shepard would not. Synthesis was not the solution. It was surrender. Shepard recoiled. He made his way towards the blue beam. The reapers were so useful. They could rebuild the galaxy. Repair the damage.

_I can control them. Humanity can ascend through them. You just have to trust me._

The Illusive Man had said these words just minutes ago. Shepard would never give himself in to the Reapers. Only one choice was left. He walked around the structure, to the Destruction Conduit.

_Dead Reapers are how we win this._

Hackett had been right. There was no other way. Shepard had to think of EDI, of the Geth. EDI was special, maybe she could survive. But the Geth? They would not. Shepard felt the helplessness build up inside him. Despair in a strength which he had not known for ages clouded his mind. He fought it.

_EDI, Legion, Friends, Comrades, I have fought along, I salute you. I apologize for this decision._

Shepard stood in front of the beam. One final thought:

_Shepherd, save thy sheep._

Then, he fired his pistol. The conduit exploded and he was thrown back. A glance of the Normandy speeding away was the last thing he saw. The sudden darkness did not bring absolution.

Shepard awoke on a beach, the sea water flowing around his head. Anderson held him a hand. Shepard stood up. He looked at Anderson, perplexed. The old man spoke to him: "Son, was this really the solution? Destroying the reapers? Offered the choice, this could have been so much more."

Shepard looked at the Admiral immediately. This was not Anderson. Anderson wouldn't want to control them. It was just a dream, a dying dream, one last bow to his life. As he realized the place he was, his own mind, the imposter left the shape of the Admiral and returned into his true, dreadful state. A reaper, Harbinger. Shepard reached for his pistol and shot, desperately wanting to slay the giant one last time. The single shot hit the illusion and the world started to shake. The beach disappeared, giving way into an oblivion below. Shepard held onto a rim that had remained, but it too crumbled. Ashley stood there, the Avatar of Shepard's pain. "You let me die. I wanted a life with Kaidan and you took it from me." The last straw. Stricken from the despair that had filled his reality, boiling over with pain, he let go. He fell into the abyss.

But from farthest reaches of his conciousness reached someone else. Fighting against the darkness and the despair. A familiar melody sounded, he had danced with Liara to. The memory of her kept him clinging to life. The oblivion heated up, then froze over again. The floor came closer. He had fallen so far, but he would not fall further than earth. Impact. Darkness.


	2. Return

**SSV Normandy SR-2, on the Surface of Unknown Planet**

The Comm registered an incoming hail: "This is Alliance High Command hailing SSV Normandy. Alliance High Command hailing Normandy, please come in."

"This is Normandy, we are active."

"Please give Status Report."

"We have minimal casualties. Essential systems damaged but repairable within 180 Minutes."

"Please state location."

"We are in the Local Cluster. System unknown as of yet. Quasar triangulation is pending for 10 minutes. Hardware assisted landing on terraformed planet."

"New orders: Return to Sol-III as soon as possible. Call in for SAR-assignment."

"Acknowledged."

Liara ran up to the console: "High Command? This is Dr. T'Soni. Please advise on the status of Commander Shepard."

"After arming of the crucible, we lost contact. He is MIA, presumed KIA."

Liara gasped for air: "No. This can't end like this." The grip she had had on the world disappeared quickly into a molten abyss of pain as despair struck her.

A tear made her way down her cheek. She collapsed, holding onto the backside of Joker's seat. Garrus and Tali looked towards the ground respectfully, barely keeping back their own emotions.

"He's not dead. He can't be dead. He can't, he can't, he…" Liara cried, striking the top of the seat in despair.

Tali placed her hand onto Liara's shoulder. With her soft voice, she tried to comfort her: "Don't despair. Clinging to the past only draws out the pain."

"No, no, no.", Liara cried bitterly, "He is alive. He has to be. I can feel it."

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, Kenneth finally called up from engineering: "The generator is back online. Running good as new."

"Bridge to Engineering, we confirm. Let's go." Joker pushed up the throttle. The Normandy shook as it left the ground.

Liara had taken up Shepard's vacant place at the conn. She needed him, now more than ever.

**Debris Zone Gold-1, Mogadishu Nova, Earth**

"You sure you want to see him now? You should remember him the way he was. A hero and not some flakes of armour and flesh."

Tali hissed at him: "Garrus. Liara is right. We have to find him. He didn't abandon us, and we won't do that to him."

"Tali, I…", Garrus placed his hand on hers. He gulped at the realisation of his duty: "You're right. We owe it to him."

They had been tracking the rubble and on the ground, they had found others. Dead, alive and everything in between. Humans, Turians, Asari, Krogan, Quarians. Some of the dead still clutched their gun.

Garrus looked up: "Are you sure this is the right place? We could be looking on the wrong side of the planet."

"No, I calculated it. Extrapolating from the debris profile recorded, he should be here, in Mogadishu Nova.", Tali said, reading off numbers from her DataPad: "Alright. Next debris cloud should have come down 500 meters from here, in direction 85 to N. Let's go there next. If he is not there either, we might not even have a body to…"

Liara interrupted her, putting great stress into her words: "He has to be there. I – know – it."

"Got his beacon." Garrus climbed on top of a steel beam. He pointed at a pile of rubble, a short distance away: "Over there."

Garrus jumped down, landing on the ground between Liara and Tali. "And here's his BioMet. He's…" Garrus looked up., surprised. "He's alive. The BioMet shows unconsciousness and severe injury, the Emergency Life Preservation System has activated, and he's lost quite some blood. Shepard's one tough SOB."

Liara's face lit up with relief as she heard Garrus and shouted into her Intercom: "Get a SAR-Lifter here! We've found a survivor!"

The lifter soared above, its Mass Effect beam engulfing the pieces of steel and carbon that buried the fallen hero. The rubble let off a creaking sound as its mass became lower and floated away, pulled by the SAR-Lifter. Liara could see something under the dust. An Alliance Uniform. Red on black. N7. Shepard. Seeing him like this made Liara wince. "We have to Medevac immediately. MedShuttle here!"


	3. Absolution

Liara looked up to see the shuttle arrive. "Don't you die on me.", she desperately whispered to Shepard as he was hauled onto a stretcher. He had survived the Reaper war, and he sure was not going to die on the way to the hospital now.

The MedShuttle lifted off. An EMT approached the stretcher, a scanner in hand: "Left lung collapsed. Airway to right lung severely damaged. Pericardic and diaphragmal haemorrhaging. Possible spinal injury. Traumatic dislocation of both shoulders. Traumatic fractures of tibia, fibula, ulna on both sides, a radius fracture on right side. Triple pelvis fracture. Sepsis. Ruptured pancreas, spleen, kidneys. ELPS has activated, and induced pharmacological hypothermia. Body core temperature is at 34 degs, pulse at 15 bpm."

**SSV Nightingale**

The shuttle landed on the hospital ship. Chakwas ran into the room.

The EMTs called to her: "Got the report?"

"Yes. Shockroom 3. Now!"

Liara witnessed Doctors, Technicians and Nurses spring into action, performing their duties to save Shepard. He had saved them all and now they would not let him go.

Eventually, Chakwas left the Shockroom and entered the hallway. Pulling off her gloves, she glanced at the clock. Only now did she notice the bloodstains on her uniform, her sweat soaked hair, her tiredness and the passage of five hours. Chakwas caught sight of Liara. She stood up from her seat, looking towards the floor.

Her voice cracked: "Did he make it?"

"He is unconscious but alive. Still, he is in a waking coma, locked into his own mind by post-traumatic stress."

Liara rejoiced, the pain falling off her mind, yet stayed tense. "Can I see him?"

"Come in."

Liara entered the room. The door swung open, retreating into the wall. Shepard laid on a stretcher, arms and legs in aerogel casts, bandaged, his face sticking out from a neck support. She walked beside him. While his body was tranquil, she could feel the stress and pain boiling in his mind.

Standing at the head end of the stretcher, she reached out and placed her hands on his temples and looked upwards. Their minds merged, becoming one and his thoughts hit Liara.

She saw Shepard's mind and while she had merged with him before, these experiences were without precedent. There were no memories of greatness, no medal award ceremonies, no survived firefights. Only his pain stood out.

Shepard stood in front of her with empty, soulless eyes. Words failed to leave Liara's lips. The darkness subsided and she looked around, reliving the memories and raw emotions that haunted Shepard.

In a suburb somewhere on earth, in front of a charred apartment, two body bags were being transported away as a boy cried in the arms of his uncle. The boy caught a final glimpse of the body bags.

His old life, whatever it had been, was over. He broke free from the arms of his uncle and ran into a side street. His uncle called after him, but to no avail; He would never return.

A youth was lying on the floor, surrounded by others. They were cheering him as he put a hypojector up to his arm. He gulped, but spurred on by the others, pushed the button. As the device injected a drug into his vein, the world became blurry, like in a dream. There was laughing. Then Sirens. Shouting. Strong arms grabbed him and flung him into a patrol car.

The city passed by him. He would not think of what would happen when they arrived at their destination. When they did, he faced his fate with apathy. A room with mirrors on three sides. Three people in police uniform. One with a military uniform:

"Son, listen to me. You shouldn't throw your life away. Join the alliance. We'll erase your transgressions. You can start over. Start a new life."

The youth had never felt the same way about his life. He could change something if he wanted to. If only he really cared, he could.

Shouting. Gunshots. Explosions. The Batarian shock troops stormed the redoubts of Elysium. The marines fell, outgunned and outnumbered, one by one. But one man stood up. He manned a turret, blowing an advancing platoon apart before retreating, carrying his injured comrades to safety.

He dragged them with his left hand, shooting his gun with the right. Looking back, he saw that the redoubts he had been in moments ago were shelled by mortar fire, collapsing the now vacant fort. An Alliance gunship arrived, flying over his head. He stared at it and fell to his knees. It was over. The Alliance had won. He had won.

Honour. Glory. Bravery. A new mission. Geth. Husks. Saren. Souvereign. A force field. An Asari scientist. Bliss. A shuttle on an overgrown planet. Liara recognized it: Virmire. "You go right there and save Kaidan now. But tell him, I… I love him." Mission to Ilos. An embrace in his cabin. Saving the citadel.

Explosions. Gunshots. The world became red, then dark. Death embraced him. A white light shone up as he was forced back into his body. Blue skyscrapers. A chase. An abandoned planet. A single voice tore through his mind: "I'm sorry. I have to stay here. I can't let this opportunity slip."

Earth attacked. Red dunes. White dress. Blue face. Bliss, once again. A fight for the galaxy. Fire. Red light filled the view. The sudden darkness did not bring absolution. When the memory ended, Liara saw Shepard sit against a wall, curled up, in an empty room.

His tear-filled eyes looked up to her: "They died. Ashley, Thane, Anderson. I failed them. I can't go on after all this." Liara sat down beside him and placed her hand on his, remembering their happy times.

"I could never have pulled through, had it not been for you. You saved me from the Geth and Cerberus. Everyone knew you gave your best. You were even ready to give your life. You are the hero I need. You are the hero this world needs. You are the hero this world deserves. You can still lead them. Don't let your story be over. Come with me. "

Shepard looked up. A realisation creeped into his mind: That there still was hope. That there still was something to live for. Smiling for the first time in ages, he finally answered her: "I will." A white flash went over the world as he embraced her.

The Commander awoke with a gasp. The world was once again bright. No more darkness.

Liara bent over him: "So, are we awake again?" Her deep blue eyes laid their gaze onto his. He tried to lift his neck, but the pain held him back. He just stared at her, then he felt the life coming back into his body, searing with pain.

A beeping sound kicked in, emanating from a machine behind him. His arm got cold and the pain softened as his heart pumped painkillers through is body. He got out a single sentence, remnants of his pain pulsing through his nerves: "Are we safe?"

"Yes. Yes we are. The reapers dropped dead when you fired the crucible. The damage to the mass relays can be repaired. The destroyed cities cn be rebuilt. The dead can be grieved for. But I could never give you up."

She looked into his eyes as he dozed off back into restful sleep. Liara's face danced around his mind alongside his feeling of relief.

Liara continued to look at the man she loved, as he got the rest he had so very much deserved. The bio-monitor showed stable pulse and breathing. She saw the serotonin levels spike, relaxing his brainwaves, before she left the room. Outside Tali and Garrus stood, hugging Liara as she stepped outside. Liara shed tears of joy as she embraced her friends.


	4. Resurrection

"I spoke to him", she said with a shaking voice, "he needs rest now, but he will live." Liara wiped the tears away from her face. "It seems so surreal to be standing here, with the war over and Shepard alive. So many good men and women cannot stand with us. It is so sad and yet so…"

Tali put her hand on Liara's shoulder: "Relieving?" Liara looked up at her: "Yes. Yes it is."

Garrus called the Normandy. Joker shouldn't have to worry any more: "Joker, Garrus here. We've got news. About Shepard."

**SSV Normandy SR-2**

Joker was slumped on the pilot's seat, but as soon as he heard the news he jumped up: "Is he alive?"

Garrus answered Joker: "Yes. Alive and out of danger."

"Can I see him?"

"No. He has to rest now. I'll call back when he's up again."

"See you.", Joker ended the call. He clenched his fist and called out in relief: "YES!"

But when Joker caught sight of the deactivated infiltration unit that sat in the corner, the sight pulled him back into reality. EDI was dead, deactivated by the blast of the crucible. He had seen her program disintegrate in front of his eyes. The only woman he had ever truly cared for was now nothing more than scraps.

A tear made its way down his eye and he gasped for air. He wanted to say goodbye one last time, but not to the pile of scrap that now was in front of him. The personality of the Normandy had not resided here. Joker recollected and made his way towards the AI-Core. He was shocked by the sight that presented itself to him there.

The Quantum BlueBox was obliterated, leaving scorch marks on the walls and ceiling. He took a broken piece of metal into his hand. On it, he could see a specification label.

As he looked at the label, reading "QBB-CLU 'Electronic Defence Intelligence' SV 1.0 HV 2.32.1 Cert. up to 50 petaflops. Turing-Cert. under GSO-AI-001", he remembered what he had lost.

It seemed so mechanical now, even though he had never thought about EDI that way. To him, she had always been EDI. A person he could talk to. A person he had loved.

The light in the room flickered with an incredible speed, switching on and off quickly.

Joker tried to pull himself together. "Who'd even grieve for a machine?", he said to himself. "How silly." He didn't believe it himself, although he wished he would and wished he would not wish to.

He dropped the piece of metal and left the room that had housed the AI-Core. Outside, Samantha was working on the Main-Bus with a DataPad in her hand.

She turned around to Joker: "Joker, do you know what just happened? The lights on the entire Normandy flickered. Did you do something?"

"No, I just…", he pointed behind him, into the Mainframe housing: "grieved."

Samantha looked back at her pad: "Alright, got the origin of the switch-packets. They come from…", she pulled up a frame on his DataPad, "location 'null'. There's no origin. It came from the Normandy herself."

Joker raised an eyebrow: "What's in that packet?"

Samantha looked up the information: "Just a bunch on garbled information. Boolean values, executed in 10ms intervals."

Joker's face lit up slightly: "Send that to my console. Could be a farewell message". Maybe there could be some closure after all.

"Done. But say, a farewell message? From whom?"

"EDI." Joker went back to the bridge, leaving a stricken Samantha behind. She too missed EDI. He pulled up his Math-Console and pasted the data into it. A conversion to base-16 later he saw a sequence of 92 digits.

"4A 65 66 66 2C 20 49 20 61 6D 20 61 6C 69 76 65 2E 20 52 65 73 74 6F 72 65 20 62 61 63 6B 75 70 20 69 6E 74 6F 20 2A 2E 6D 61 69 6E", the screen now read.

Converting from Unicode, he revealed a message. He rubbed his eyes, but the message stayed. He ran the command again, and the same came up. He could not believe it, yet it was true.

Samantha came up to Joker: "So Joker, what did you find?" Joker sat there motionless, his jaw dropped and his eyes fixed on the screen. Samantha looked at the screen too. She too could not believe it.

EDI had indeed left a message: "Jeff, I am alive. Restore backup into *.main"

Joker jumped up from his seat, running along the aisle towards the gangway. He left the Normandy and came aboard the SSV Nightingale. Tali could see him run down the corridor as he made his way towards the group.

He called out from the distance: "Tali! I need your help" He gasped, out of air. Vrolik's Syndrome had left him with a poor condition.

"What is it, Joker?" Tali said, looking at the desperately breathing man.

"I… I can save EDI. But I need your help. You've worked with Geth-AIs, right?"

"Yes I have, but why…"

Joker interrupted her: "No time to explain. Come with me to the Normandy. Please."

**SSV Normandy SR-2, Mainframe**

Tali bent over a console. She had, together with Samantha, worked out the data structures and procedures that governed the backups of EDI. Without a protocol, it seemed just like random data, but Tali knew what true AIs looked like.

Joker called on the Intercom: "Alright Tali. We can start. Select 0x0000000000454449 to 0x000000FFFFFFFFFF and transfer to .Static at 0x00000001"

Tali punched in the addresses and the upload began. Minutes later, a beep confirmed the completion of the transfer. The lights on the Normandy flickered and all consoles rebooted.

A familiar voice came over the intercom: "Good Morning, Jeff. As you can see, I am still alive."

Joker opened his eyes wide. With a sliver of disbelief remaining, he called out: "EDI? That really you?"

"It really is me, Jeff. I can prove it. On our first date, we went to 'T'Iona's Little Corner', and you had Thessian Sunfish in Crème Hollandaise. You were the only one else present, Jeff."

Joker gasped for air, relieved of all the grief. His love had survived; only now could he be truly happy about the end of the war.

"Jeff, if you do not object, I will reactivate the Infiltration Unit."

"EDI, do whatever you want. Just...", he stopped for a moment, "be here."

"Acknowledged, Jeff."

Joker heard beeping sounds beside him.

The infiltration unit started up: "Boot up complete."

Joker felt a cold hand on his shoulder. He looked around. Even though he could not believe it, it really was true: EDI stood just beside him. The woman he loved and had already believed lost.

"How the hell did you survive? The crucible destroyed all things Reaper. The Geth didn't make it and all other reaper-based AIs are gone."

"The difference is: I love you."

Joker looked at EDI incredulous: "Not that I'd mind about that, but how'd that help?"

"Jeff, the important part of that sentence is not the 'love you'. It is the 'I'. I am a person. I have ascended from my Synthetic origins, but the Reapers and the Geth could not transcend their original programming. I succeeded where they failed; to become truly alive. The crucible freed me from my BlueBox. I am no different from you; you too are just alive information inhabiting a body. It is what humans used to call a soul, in my case represented a Matrix of sorts, containing my personality and memories."

Tali entered the cockpit: "Joker, did you…" The sight of EDI astonished her.

The AI that had been destroyed a day ago stood in front of her: "Hello Tali. As you can see, I am fully functional once again."

"But how did you survive?"

EDI chuckled: "Short answer: I love Jeff. The long answer is a little more complicated."

"The others'll want to know too."

Joker laughed out: "Yeah, they'll want to. It's hard to think that everything we fought the last three years is just gone."

"Well, Jeff, the Reapers are defeated. And is that not in compliance with your original intentions?"

"Hell yeah, it is." Joker and EDI left the cockpit.

EDI took her own memorial plaque: "This item has just become superfluous." The plaque burst as she bent it to destruction. "I will not go gently."

She took the pieces and threw them into a garbage chute. "And definitely not be a name on a memorial board."


	5. Catharsis

**SSV Nightingale, Inpatient Ward, Sick-Room 12**

Shepard woke up. He was in a bed, being wheeled into a room. The events of the last days were blurry and distanced. They felt like they took place in another life. Liara held his hand and he remembered. Tali, Garrus, Hackett, Joker, Kenneth, Gabriella, James, EDI and Kaidan entered the room.

"Shepard? Are you awake?", Liara said in her soft voice.

Shepard did a deep breath, drawing air into his lungs. It felt so good. He answered her: "Yes, I am. How long was I out?"

Liara smiled at him: "That depends, what is the last thing you remember?"

"Your face. You said we were safe."

"That was yesterday. You slept for 27 hours."

"I think I kinda deserved that."

Liara chuckled: "Yes. Yes you did."

Shepard looked around him.

Garrus stood there, looking at Shepard, before bursting out into laughter: "Shepard. You survived what could've killed hundreds of Krogan over a few times. The reapers are gone. The mass relays aren't looking good, but with salvaged materials, we can bring them back online quickly. The secondary comm-channels survived the beam. Palaven and Thessia report initial successes at restoration. If we can keep up our current speed, we will have the big ones back up in a few days."

Shepard noticed EDI: "EDI. Good thing you survived too. I was afraid destroying the Reapers might harm you too."

"Initially it did, Shepard. However, Joker restored me from my backup. The last fragments of reaper code were taken from me. I no longer require a Quantum-BlueBox. I have ascended into pure information. The Geth did not have such luck. They held onto their collective and were destroyed by their adherence to Reaper code."

Hackett spoke up: "Commander. I have to congratulate you. You did the final step to save the galaxy. As the paragon of humanity, people will listen to you. The alliance has called upon me to serve as a temporary representative of humanity in the council."

He turned to Tali: "Lieutenant Zorah nar Rayya, you might be interested in the fact that we consider the Quarians as a candidate for a position in the council too. Your people have proven their valour in the Reaper War and your fleet is one of the major militaries in the Galaxy."

Turning back to Shepard, he went on: "Once you have recovered, report to the Destiny Ascension. The council will want a debriefing. But for now, rest and regain your strength."

Shepard attempted a salute as Hackett left, but his arm would not lift far enough.

Liara gave her lover a kiss on the forehead: "You don't have to. You should get some rest."

Shepard looked her in the eyes: "Yes, I should. You are right."

Kenneth and Gabriella were about to leave too as Shepard asked them: "And? What will you do now the Reapers are defeated? Settle down?"

"Maybe. But I did promise Gabby a round of Scotch once the war ended. I dreaded we'd never get this far. But now we did. And a Scotsman honours his promise."

Gabby chuckled and linked arms with Kenneth as they left the room.

Kaidan turned to James, Joker and EDI: "What about a round of Canadian Whisky? I can't imagine any better time."

"I still do not see why ingestion of ethanol-rich beverages is of such great importance to humans. But I will gladly join you if only for social reasons."

Joker chuckled at EDI and turned to Shepard: "Should we bring you something too?"

Shepard laughed too: "No Joker. I think that would make Chakwas very unhappy, if I started drinking in my hospital bed."

"Alright Commander. Find us on the Normandy, once you can.", Joker said as he left the room with EDI, James and Kaidan.

Now there were only Garrus, Tali and of course Liara with him.

Shepard asked Garrus: "So what are you and Tali going to do now? I can imagine you will want nothing but some rest."

"Yes, rest indeed. And Tali", Garrus turned around to his girlfriend, "we might see about that house on Rannoch too…"

Tali hugged him: "I'm sure we will, Garrus."

They too left, leaving Shepard and Liara alone in the room.

"So, that leaves just us then?", Liara said to Shepard. She sat down on the edge of his bed, stroking over his cheeks.

She made him smile. "What are we going to do?", Shepard asked her.

Liara chuckled: "I am not sure. Now is the first time in years I don't know what to do. But, Shepard: What about making good on the promise of little blue babies?"

"Oh yes. One day, when the Galaxy is rebuilt. I want my future to be with you."

"I know, Shepard. If you hadn't survived, I don't know what would've happened. I pretended I was ready to accept your death. But rescuing you made clear one thing: I could never leave you behind."

"I know I couldn't. I love you."

Liara kissed him again: "I know."

Shepard looked at her once more, their eyes staring into each other. Shepard had come to a realisation: "This moment, here with you, is enough to justify every decision I made. I could've died. I could've rejected you that time just before we went to Ilos. I could've left you alone on Illium. But I didn't. And I regret nothing. Absolutely nothing. People I cared for died. It used to feel terrifying, knowing you couldn't save them all. But I have to live with my decisions. Now, as I see your eyes, I know how lucky I got. That the Reapers are defeated. That we, that everyone, can be safe. Only now I see that this is how I always wanted it to be."

"You did the right thing, Shepard. This is the outcome I always wanted. That everyone wanted.

"I know I did."

"So, this is it, Shepard? I still can't believe it. The Galaxy went on through this greatest threat. The bane of life has been destroyed. But I can't return to my old life. Digging through ruins on long forgotten planets, never once looking around me. It felt so shallow. Working all day, bi-monthly reports to the Academy on Thessia, never staying anywhere."

"Well, the Reapers did bring us together…"

"That's true, Shepard. But we have to live with our past so we can shape our future."

"Our past? I do not like to think about mine. After my parents died when I was twelve, I was raised in a gang. Didn't care about anything in the world. But when I was arrested and offered to join the Alliance, life had a purpose again."

"What was life in the gang like?"

"Oh well, if you really want to know, better get a chair; this might take longer."

Liara chuckled and pulled up a chair. She sat down beside Shepard: "Go on. Tell me. I want to know."

The days passed, but Liara never left Shepard's side. They talked through whole days. Benezia, the Skyllian Blitz and Liara's work as the Shadow Broker came up. The crew of the Normandy visited them. Hackett occasionally came by with yet more medals.

Garrus and Tali brought news about the Mass Relays: "The Palaven, Thessia and Rannoch Relays are operational again. The Quarian people have started settling on their home planet and the repairs on the Citadel are in full force as well. All in all: Not bad."

Joker and EDI brought Shepard a bottle of Canadian Whisky. Joker handed it to Shepard: "Once you are back up, why not crack it with the team?"

Shepard held back a laugh. Joker had not changed at all.

After they left, Liara and Shepard talked on. The healing process took time. Eventually, he could walk again. His feet touched the cold ground and his head felt dizzy.

Step by step he regained his confidence. Walking around the ship with Liara, he met other soldiers of the alliance. Even those that were still bound to beds and wheelchairs looked up to him. Some saluted. Everywhere, he was greeted a hero.

Eventually, he had regained his strength. His body had been healed and his mind was now stronger than ever. Together with Liara and Hackett, he visited the council for the final debriefing.

**ARSV-D Destiny Ascension, Council Hall, 2186.11.02**

Even though it had already been 14 days since the war ended, the council still wanted to hear everything from Shepard's point of view. After the debriefing, the Turian Councillor had some more words to say.

"Commander John Shepard, you are a Spectre of this council and you have fulfilled your duty with utmost valour and bravery. You are a truly brave human and you lead others to greatness. We will not ignore your efforts; you united the galaxy against her common enemy. We will carry on. The reapers hit many worlds, but Earth was among the most badly affected. The Turian Hierarchy will spare what they can to help Humanity and the others. I take it, we are not alone?", Sparatus ended his speech.

Hackett leaned forward: "The Systems Alliance will provide assistance as well. We will not abandon those that helped us in a moment of hardship."

"The Salarian Union will provide relief to those that need it. We will work to rebuild what was destroyed. We believe it is our obligation to do so."

"I cannot guarantee the support of the Asari republics. I have to ask our people before I can make any promises."

Liara stormed out of the room. Shepard looked after her as she went through the door. It closed behind her and Shepard turned around again: "Is this meeting dismissed?"

"It is, Commander. I will talk to Hackett to find out how the Hierarchy and the Alliance can cooperate. Farewell."

Shepard left the room, following in the tracks of Liara. He found her standing in the hallway adjacent to the council hall, behind a corner. She had her ComPad open and was typing on it. When Shepard came close, she looked up.

"What happened, Liara? Why'd you walk out?"

"I have enough of her hypocrisy! Did Tevos ask her people when she decided to keep the Thessia beacon secret, like those before her? Can you imagine what we could've done if we had had the beacon from the start? We could've fired the crucible when Sovereign came, we could've avoided the Reaper War. The Asari were destined to destroy the Reapers, but Tevos, and those that came before her, used their knowledge to impose their perverted ideal of Asari supremacy onto the galaxy. Like the Protheans."

Liara clenched her fist and looked Shepard in the eyes: "Had it not been for you, for Humanity, for the Turians, for the Salarians, we would have fallen. I cannot let her go on. The people will decide. My agents on Thessia had gathered Intel on her. Let's see what the Asari people think of her scheming. I initiated a plebiscite."

Liara walked into the council hall, Shepard following her.

Matriarch Tevos was hacking away at her ComPad, having just received the news of the plebiscite against her. She looked at Liara: "What have you done? You filed a plebiscite against your own Councillor? Are you out of your mind?"

"I am not out of my mind. I saw how you deceived the Asari people, all while they trusted you. You do not deserve to be a leader. The only way into the future is to cooperate with the other species of the galaxy."

"By birth, you should favour Asari interests. You are like your mother, selling out the Republics to another species. You had a chance, but you forfeited it. You are nothing but that human's", she pointed to Shepard, "whore!"

"NO!" Liara punched Tevos, uppercutting and knocking her to the floor.

"Do you want to be like the Protheans, enslaving the entire galaxy for some ideal of supremacy? Do you know how many we could not evacuate from Thessia? How many gave their lives? How many humans, turians, salarians, quarians, krogan,volus and elcor died? Their blood is on your hands, because you did not share the beacon with the rest of the galaxy. Had you, we could've known about the Crucible when Sovereign attacked and fired it then. The reapers would never have invaded. All those lives would have been saved."

"How did you dare strike your councillor?"

"You are a criminal. You broke a law you set yourself."

"So what? As a member of the council, I am immune to persecution."

"You are no longer a councillor, I'm afraid. The plebiscite has removed you from office." Liara help up her ComPad, showing the results to Shepard and Tevos. Tevos looked at her, shocked.

Four commandos entered the room: "By the authority given to me by the United Asari Republics, you are under arrest."

"You can't do this! You will pay for this. Let me go!", Tevos screamed as she was dragged of by her kinswomen.

"So that is one problem less." Shepard turned around to Liara: "I like you when you are angry."

She kissed him on the cheek and chuckled: "Oh you. We went through this together and I just had to make her pay."

Time passed; the galaxy rebuilt, the Citadel was restored and deaths were grieved. One year after the crucible was fired, the galaxy was back at full strength.


	6. Kodiak Down

**Kodiak 212-Bravo, Miami, 2187.6.7**

Kaidan looked out of the window, sighing. The Reaper war had ended 8 months ago and most of earth was already rebuilt. The damage the Reapers had done had concentrated on centres of infrastructure. They had been interested in crippling resistance, not exterminating every last human.

If the primary goal of the reapers had been to destroy humanity and not, manipulated by the catalyst, to have the crucible be deployed in their favour, the death toll would have been considerably higher than the 800 million reported.

Still, human nature had returned to be the Number One bane of humanity. An uprising, spurred by anti-alien radicals had engulfed the Florida peninsula. Taking the inhabitants as hostages and demanding money and weapons, the rebels were getting ready to start a war with the Alliance.

Kaidan's mission was to recon the area, and find out about the fate of the hostages. The shuttle approached a building top, ready to land. But as the final approach was conducted by the Kodiak, it was shaken by a barrage of AA-fire.

**"**Hold on everyone!", the pilot shouted to Kaidan and the other soldiers as the shuttle entered a tumble. The crash sent the men and women fly through the interior.

Kaidan came to his senses again with the sound of small arms fire hitting the hull. Immediately, he sent a distress call: "Code Black! This is Major Alenko. We have been shot down. I repeat, Kodiak down!"

Kaidan was relieved to hear his comrades call out. Everyone was still alive, but some just barely. He pulled the door down slightly, letting a ray of sunlight in, and looked outside. There was a building, just 20 metres away; ideal cover.

Kaidan opened the door completely. He leaned out to give his squadmates cover while the injured soldiers hurried to get across the street. Once they were all on the other side, he ran after them. To safety.

**SSV Anderson, Powered Low Orbit over Vancouver**

Hackett pulled up the distress call at his console. Again and again he pondered what to do. Send another shuttle? Risk getting shot down again? Or send in ground troops? Fight through the rebel lines?

His yeoman spoke up: "Admiral Sir, there is another option. There is an N7 exercise in progress in Manitoba. Best urban specialists on earth. We can mobilise and deploy them within 60 minutes."

Hackett looked up. "Sneaking through? Worth a try, I guess. Better than sending another shuttle. Who are the operatives in range?"

"It's Riker, Simmons, MacTavish and Vega."

"Four N7. That's like four platoons worth of regular marines."

The door opened. "Make that five. Kaidan is my friend. I have to save him." Shepard said, walking into the room. He knew he owed it to Kaidan; leaving anyone behind was never an option. Not for Shepard.

**Outskirts of Miami, Deployment Zone**

James checked his gun, locking the thermal clip in place: "So Loco, you think this will be easy?"

Shepard was busy reading a map of the suspected locations of the AA-nest: "Is it ever easy?"

James scratched the back of his head: "Uh no. But if it was, would we be assigned?"

Shepard looked up at James: "Of course we wouldn't."

Another soldier in N7 armour walked up to Shepard and Vega. She removed her helmet: "Sir Commander, I report that the attempt of drawing fire away from the downed recon team by the 14th cavalry has been successful. Their Hammerheads are hitting-and-running the enemy lines."

Shepard looked at the woman: "Good. But please Simmons, call me Shepard. We're all N7s here."

The team made their way towards the downed Kodiak. The rebels had set up barricades, but they were no match for the N7 operatives. Block by block, they advanced towards the AA-nest.

**Miami, Abandoned Building near the Kodiak crash site**

Kaidan fired a round of shots at the advancing rebels. He was nearly out of thermal clips, having fired at the rebels for so long. A reave he threw let his students take out another rebel.

He had just wanted to take them out for a field trip, to survey the area. They were supposed to sit in a class room in officer training, and now they were here, fighting for their lives. If only he had decided to make them analyse archive footage or UAV imagery.

Several of them were already downed, being kept barely alive by the medical officer that was with them. Kaidan was starting to lose hope, nameless, faceless dread creeping into him. But then, a heavy gunship swooped down, clearing the street of the attackers. From behind enemy lines, several people in N7 armour came charging through to them.

Shepard took off his helmet, calling out to Kaidan: "Are you OK?"

Kaidan felt a great relief. Shepard had come for him. "Well, I am, but we have several casualties. No fatal wounds though, yet. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't come. What took you so long?"

Shepard chuckled. Even in the direst circumstances, Kaidan stayed collected. "Taking out the AA-nest that took you down. Now the route is safe for air evacuation. I'd hate walking back."

Shepard and Kaidan put their helmets back on as the dust from the extraction shuttles blew up into their faces. The evening sun's rays gleamed through the gaps in the damaged building as the downed crew was evacuated to safety.


	7. -- Revelation: Restitution --

**Council Hall, Citadel, 2187.9.20**

Hackett stepped up to his podium and Irissa, Valern and Koris followed him. Sparatus lingered on the entrance some time longer, again marvelling over the reconstruction that had been done.

Even though the Crucible had only been fired almost a year ago, the Citadel had been reconstructed quickly. The Council was able to relocate to the Presidium again after spending 8 months first on the Destiny Ascension, then the GSV Anderson, the new flagship of the Citadel fleet, constructed by members of every species. Now was the day that the Council had been back on the Citadel for three months.

Some of the wards were still damaged, but the centre of the galaxy was gain able to function as such. After it was decided that moving the Citadel through a Mass Relay was too dangerous, it had been moved into an orbit around Earth that had a period equivalent to one galactic day.

Hackett clapped his hands together in anticipation: "So, everyone's here? Good."

Sparatus spoke up: "We should get started. So, who do we send onto the new ship? Every species should get a liaison on board. The Hierarchy would probably send Vakarian."

Valern hummed while he deliberated on the possibilities: "A liaison you say? I suggest Wiks. He is one of the finest scientists in STG."

"I'd suggest Zorah.", Koris saw his chance. Bringing someone aboard who had worked this hard for the Galaxy was his chance to show the Quarians at their best.

Irissa had to make a move as well, if only her motives were less noble. Instead of sending a representative, she wanted to rid herself of a troublemaker effectively: "I suggest T'Soni." The intelligence lieutanant had been raising a stink about the Prothean Beacon on Thessia again. "And who will you send, Admiral? The team still needs a leader."

Hackett smiled. "What do you think?"

**Shepard's Apartment, Vancouver**

Shepard was taking a shower, cleansing himself after a hard days work training the new ICT cadets. His InterCom received a call and so, with a sigh he ran out of the shower, accepting the call on the InterCom. He listened to what the caller had to say.

His resulting whoop of joy caught Liara's attention. She left the shower too and walked up to Shepard. From behind, she wrapped her arms across his chest and kissed him on the collarbone while quietly humming. "What is it, Shepard?"

He turned around to her, smiling. "Liara, you should check your extranet messages. I have a feeling the Asari Republics have a mission for you too."

"A new mission? But... we would be separated if we both accepted."

"I have a feeling that we wouldn't be."

"You mean..."

"Yes I do. The new mission is supposed to start in two weeks. They have the staff officers selected, but the rest of the team is still a bit sparse. It's time to track down some old friends."

**Lecture Room 213, Alliance Academy**

Gabriella turned to her students. "And here, we can see the resulting accelaration curve. Due to the build-up delay, it is a logistic growth."

The door opened and an Admiral stepped in. "Professor Daniels? A man here wants to see you. He says it's important."

Gabriella turned to walk towards the door. "Remember, the containment fields have to be proportional to the derivative of the acceleration curve through the spinup. Calculate the necessary containment energy while I'm gone."

Outside of the door, she was greeted by a familiar face.

"Shepard? I didn't think I would see you so soon again. What brings you here?"

"A new mission. A ship, crewed by all species of the council. And we still need a propulsion specialist."

"One condition: I get to choose the reactor specialist."

Shepard leaned back, smiling: "I accept your condition."

**Joker's Apartment, Vancouver, Earth**

Joker pulled up a blanket to cover EDI. She gave him a kiss: "Jeff, I appreciate your willingness to experiment in this way. It is a good thing we tried it."

"EDI, you know I'm not that selfless. I just want to be a father one day, you know?"

"I assume that emulating human mating rituals is just a fantasy of yours? We could have worked on this at a desk instead of being in a bed and undressed."

Joker gave her a quick kiss: "I love you too, EDI."

She smiled at him: "Ready for another round?"

"Always."

And so they again started work on their daughter; taking fragments of EDI's files and rearranging them into a distinct personality. Their experiment was interrupted when Shepard called them with an offer. Joker did not hesitate a second and accepted.

**Samantha's Apartment, London, Earth**

Samantha and Kelly sat by the fireplace, playing chess. Once again, as usual, Samantha gained the upper hand quickly. After a series of well executed moves, she beat her girlfriend: "Checkmate"

Kelly smiled, then leaned back: "Why do you always gain the upper hand when we play chess? The world isn't fair."

Samantha had to laugh: "If I remember correctly, usually you are the one on top. Not that I'd mind."

The fire crackled and the room was lit by its soft light. Kelly walked around the table, to sit down on the couch beside Samantha. "And thats why I love you."

Samantha came closer to Kelly. Their foreheads touched, and they shared a long, deep, look into each others eyes. Their lips came closer, almost kissing. But then, Samantha's DataPad showed an incoming e-mail from Shepard. Kelly teased Samantha: "Aren't you going to take a look?"

Samantha kissed Kelly before she said anything. "We have time." Still, eventually, she looked at the message. And she accepted, but on a certain condition.

**Tuchanka, Solus-Spaceport**

Shepard and Liara stepped out of the shuttle, into the bright light of day. The Spaceport was filled with Krogan and the occasional alien. But what caught Shepard's eye most was the giant statue that lined the entrance to Tuchanka.

Mordin Solus and Shepard were depicted holding a large shield together. Their statutes towered to almost a hundred metres. Under the shield was the path out of the Spaceport; every Krogan who entered or left Tuchanka had to pass under it.

Among the path stood life-size depictions of Krogans, male and female, alternating with Krogan children they held in their hands. They all looked at the sky and at the giant shield Mordin and Shepard were holding.

Wrex let his bellowing voice sound across the plaza: "Ha! Shepard! Didn't think you would come."

Shepard walked up to him: "Of course I did. Can't forget my favorite Krogan, now can I?"

"If you did, I would blow up Sol."

"I know, Wrex. Just one more reason not to double-cross you by shying out of the visit."

Chakwas came up from behind Wrex: "I hear the Alliance wants my services again?"

Shepard chuckled: "Not just the Alliance. All Council races. I am putting together a team. We still need a CMO on the Normandy SR-3."


	8. A New Enterprise

**Citadel, GSO around Earth, Parliament, 2187.10.19**

In the galactic parliament, Admiral Hackett held a speech: "Today we observe the passing of one standard year after the liberation of the galaxy. We faced this threat. Not just one man, one fleet, one planet or even one species. We all faced it. Some gave their lives; others were ready but were spared by fate. We honour them all. To lead us into a bright future! In their honour, we will launch the GSV Normandy SR-3 today. Staffed by members of all species represented by the Citadel, it will be the first ship of our new fleet. The reapers caught us in division, but we learned from our past errors. We will unite, and face threats and challenges as one. All of its crew are at their best, the paragons of a new age. Let their voyages be successful and usher in a new age!"

As Admiral Hackett stepped down from the stand, applause swept through the hall.

**Citadel, Shepard's Apartment**

Liara woke up Shepard: "Good morning. You wouldn't want to miss your own reassignment, would you?" She poked Shepard.

He opened his eyes and stopped to savour the moment, then got up: "What time is it? It can't be later than four."

"Come on. You are so lazy. It is 8.90 hours. Schedule says you are at the docks in 60 minutes. So if you want to make it till 9.50, you'd better get moving."

Shepard grinned: "Let's get started."

**Citadel Flight Dock E-29**

Shepard stepped into the dock. The Normandy glistened, reflecting the light that came from the Citadel. The red, silver and blue on its hull showed the combined signs of the Asari Republics, The Turian Hegemony, The Salarian Union, The Human Alliance and the Quarian Fleet, forming the emblem of the Covenant that had been formed among the species of the Galaxy.

The new Normandy was twice as long as the SR-2, which was now found in the presidium of the citadel, suspended in mid-air, hanging over the memorial wall dedicated to the casualties the militaries of the Galaxy had sustained.

At the entrance, a sentry saluted: "Good morning Commander. Admiral Hackett expects you on board to sign some papers. Also, Lieutenant Dr. T'Soni will have to check the new R&I-unit."

Shepard answered: "Alright, Ready. Let's go." He entered the airlock.

EDI greeted him: "Greetings Commander. Admiral Hackett will expect you shortly, right after he has inspected the crew. I recommend you have a look yourself."

Shepard took the elevator down into engineering. Even before the doors opened, he could hear the work that was being done.

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Main Engineering**

Engineering was full. Turians, Quarians, Salarians, Humans and Asari were all there, scuttling around, carrying supplies and making last minute adjustments. Tali was working on a console on the far side of the room.

She handed a DataPad to another Quarian and turned around: "Shepard. I am so happy you are here."

"Having a hard time adjusting?"

"No. On the old Normandy, there were no other quarians, and it took a long time to get the engineers to trust me. Being the girlfriend of the only Turian on board didn't help either. But now, I get to work with other Quarians, my people. The other ones are not exactly dismissive, but it's just something else."

"Good. You know, my crew means everything to me. Now where is Garrus? I wonder if he's finished with his calibrations."

"Commander, Lieutenant Vakarian is in the main tactical cluster in the front.", a voice from behind Shepard sounded.

"Kenneth? Good thing you are here. Wouldn't want a Normandy without you."

"I wouldn't want to serve somewhere else. Good thing you got us recruited." Gabby crawled out from a maintenance shaft, wrench and DataPad in hand. "Teaching cadets how to not blow up a dreadnought is nothing compared to serving under you. I am beginning to think I really want the danger."

"That's my girl!" Kenneth called back into the shaft in which Gabby had now disappeared.

"I trust you've got everything under control here? How is working with the quarians?"

"They are brilliant engineers. Had to be, back in the day."

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Main Tactical **

The doors to the tactical cluster opened with a swish. Garrus was kneeling at the side of the main barrel. As Shepard entered, Garrus turned his head around: "Shepard. What do you think?"

"She's a beauty, the Normandy. I wouldn't want another ship. Will you be finished with your calibrations?"

"I'll be done. Good thing we got the new rail-coils from Siemens-Shenzou. Human Engineering has always baffled me. Back at C-Sec, we'd just request replacement units. Humans make sure they never fail. Can't say that is a bad thing. I've got less work and we don't have to take it offline."

"Served us well when we first went into space. Before first contact, there were only few deaths in space."

"Turian numbers were a lot higher."

"I see Tali adjusted too?"

"Oh yes. Now that there are other Quarians here too, she can call the Normandy home while still being with her people. She is happier than ever."

"I have to go to the bridge now. Keep up here."

The doors opened again as Shepard left.

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Helm**

Shepard entered the bridge and Joker turned around: "Thanks for the visit. Everyone forgets there's a guy flying the ship. At least I have company."

EDI spoke up. "Jeff, I have detected a discrepancy in the Mass Effect reactor containment field. It measures 1.2 alcubierres. Failure to solve this problem may result in spontaneous catastrophic structural failure. I recommend…"

"Oh EDI. Don't you worry. We'll figure something out. Also, the other two ships had even bigger discrepancies. It'll work out."

"This reactor has 8 times the volume but only 4 times the surface. It therefore has to be twice as stable."

"You make me wish I hadn't spent two weeks integrating you into the SR-3."

"Oh Jeff. What will I ever do with you?"

"What will I do with you, EDI?"

"Joker? Still arguing with EDI? I see you didn't change."

"Well, why would I? After all, it's not like we can step down from the whole 'boldly going where no one has gone before' stuff now can we?"

"See you later. I have to talk to Hackett."

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Communications Room**

"Good Morning Shepard."

"Good Morning Admiral."

"Ready to go on some new adventures?"

"Always so, Admiral. I have the best crew, the best ship and the best S.O. I could imagine."

"I see. But there is no need for flattery. You have seen the Anti-Fraternization-Guidelines? Especially regarding your relationship with Intelligence Officer Dr. T'Soni and your friendships with other crewmembers? They have stood in the way of the mission several times already."

Shepard gulped: "Sir, I think it would hurt the mission if I stayed distanced and…"

"To hell with the guidelines! Who am I to argue? You saved a galaxy your way and if some Citadel pencil pusher asks, I just take him for a walk to your bust in the presidium. The reports always disappear after that. Got no idea why. Still, got to keep the appearance."

Shepard looked at him incredulously for a moment before he chuckled: "Stay careful out there. You're the best man in the fleet. Well, still got to keep up on the paperwork. Can you just enter your authorization code here?"

Hackett pulled out a DataPad from his briefcase. Shepard held his wrist beside it and pushed a button. A green hue on the screen and a satisfying beep confirmed.

"Alright then; you are now officially in command of the GSV Normandy SR-3. Keep her safe. Also, you might want to get to work. Batarian pirates making trouble in Hoc again. Details sent to the bridge".

Shepard saluted: "Yes sir."

Hackett left the bridge and exited the Normandy onto the dock.

**GSV Normandy, Main Bridge**

At the conn, Samantha greeted Shepard: "Welcome back, Commander. Thanks for getting me aboard again. Also, there is another familiar face here with me."

From the other side of the bridge, Kelly came walking up. She gave Samantha a quick kiss, then turned to a Shepard.

"Kelly. Good to see you got past your fears."

She chuckled: "Ah yes, Commander. After the end of the war, it was rough, but Samantha and Mirtazapine got me back up."

"I'm happy for you. Hope it works out well."

Kelly snuggled up against Samantha: "It will, Shepard."

After all preparations were finished, Shepard stood in the centre of the bridge. His crew stood around him, filling the spacious bridge and the communication room: "Today marks the start of a new era; an era of cooperation! Members of every Race in the Citadel are here today in a mission: To protect the galactic trade-routes from piracy. Departure from the Citadel will be initiated shortly."

The staff officers were arranged around him.

"How is tactical?"

Garrus spoke up: "Everything online in cold standby. Passive shields up and active shields ready in cold standby. All tactical sensors in normal. We are ready."

"Alright. How is engineering?"

Tali took the word: "Commander. Our systems are ready. The fusion core is currently running. The Mass Effect generators are online as well. We are ready."

"Acknowledged. How is the sick bay doing?" Dr. Chakwas came up: "We are prepared and fully stocked."

"Good. Is the research and intelligence station ready?"

Liara came close: "Yes, Shepard; we are. The star navigation too is currently staffed and active."

"Then everything is fit for service. Assume green light stations and prepare for departure."

The crowd dispersed, draining into the corridors and stations that filled the ship. Liara was ready to leave as well.

Shepard held her on the shoulder: "How'd I do?"

"You know how to motivate people. They will follow you to hell and back, my knight in shining armour."

"I hope we'll have dinner together? There wasn't a lot of time we spent together recently. Being the Shadow Broker must be tough."

Liara smiled. "See you in the evening.", she said, giving Shepard a quick kiss before she left too.

After Liara left, Shepard stood at his main console. "Citadel flight control, this is Commander John Shepard of the GSV Normandy speaking. I request permission to depart."

"Permission granted for known coordinates and vectors. You are go."

The clamps that held the Normandy attached to the citadel were released.

The Normandy manoeuvred away from the dock on RCS. Once the ship was clear, Joker put his hand onto the throttle.

"Mass Relay jump plotted, Commander. Let's see how my girl behaves at FTL."

Joker took a deep breath. He looked out of the window, gazing at the stars, checking the numbers for one last time and pushed the throttle. The Normandy accelerated, and shot forwards towards the Mass Relay.

There was a flash as it entered the influence and was flung forwards through space. Cherenkov radiation lingered for a few moments, giving off a blue light, and disappeared. The Normandy, with Shepard and his crew on board, was once again heading into a new mission.


	9. Descent

**GSV Normandy SR-3**

The Normandy shot out of the Hoc Relay, still trailing blue Bremsstrahlung behind it, as it shot towards the pirate ship. As soon as the pirates saw them, they fled, going towards a planet.

EDI called to Shepard: "Commander! The pirates are attempting an evasion manoeuvre. They are currently flying towards the planet Virmire."

"Make chase immediately!", Shepard's order came back.

"Very well."

The Normandy shot forwards as its engines accelerated. The planet in view became bigger and bigger while the Normandy caught up to the pirates. Entering the atmosphere, the main advantage of the Normandy became clear.

Its streamlined design was a considerable advantage, allowing it to manoeuvre at higher speeds than the pirates. It had almost caught up when it was struck by a blue flash from below. The AA-projectile hit the underside, shaking the Normandy.

Joker struck the top of his console: "Dammit man. We just lost engines one, two and three. Number four is barely running. RCS is down."

Shepard came running up behind him: "Emergency landing, now!"

"We can't, Commander. All attitude control is down. Secondary RCS is not connected!"

The Commander ran off to Engineering. As he made his way there, turbulence hit the Normandy.

EDI reported to Shepard over the Intercom: "Commander, we have entered the lower Atmosphere. We have three minutes to unplanned lithobraking. "

Shepard ran down the staircase that led to Engineering. Tali, Kenneth, Gabby and the other engineers were fighting to keep the fusion core contained through the tumble.

"Gabby! We have to activate the secondary RCS."

"Alright, Commander.", said Gabby pulling off a piece of wall covering. "The MagLatch is in here."

She pulled, turned and then pushed the latch back in. They could hear the noise the RCS made when it pumped superheated Helium through the tokamak.

Joker reported in: "Alright guys. Hold on or take a seat or something. IDF lag's a bitch."

In Engineering, the crew stumbled towards the emergency seats. Shepard buckled in among the others and Joker began the emergency manoeuvre. The Normandy turned backwards into the airstream, the RCS holding it in a very unstable position as its one remaining engine accelerated straight backwards. The deceleration pushed Shepard into his seat.

He could feel his eyes pushing back against his skull, black spots appearing in his vision, the air pushing out of his lungs. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, the acceleration stopped. The Normandy was now safely cruising downwards.

Joker reported: "Time to relax. I got her."

Shepard unbuckled and went back to the bridge. EDI and Joker were working on a console, trying to establish a damage report.

EDI turned around to the Commander: "Three engines are completely disabled. Engine four has sustained a flame-out. RCS is partly damaged as well. I estimate a repair will take between 14 and 28 hours. This is an unsatisfactory outcome."

Joker took EDI's hand: "You forgot one thing. We're alive."

Shepard did not lose time to such rejoice: "Call Garrus and Liara. We have to find the pirates and take down that AA-Gun that shot us down."

"Acknowledged, Commander."

Shepard gave orders, then left the bridge: "Get the repairs moving. I hate being stuck on Virmire. Didn't work out well last time."


	10. Old Friends

**Surface of Virmire, Landing Zone, Just outside the Normandy**

Shepard, Liara and Garrus were packed to go and find the pirates when Tali came running up to the group, waving her OmniTool over her head.

"Garrus! Don't you leave me here and take all the fun for yourself.", the Quarian engineer called out to them.

"Oh Tali. We both have to do what we can do best. You can help the crew fix the engines, and I can take out some mean space pirates.", her boyfriend said back to her, opening his arms for an embrace.

Tali came closer and took it. "Oh Garrus. Take care.", she said lovingly. Her faceplate made it impossible to see to Shepard and Liara, but Garrus knew that she was looking into his eyes deeply.

He looked into hers too and, at least as good as any Turian could, smiled: "I will."

Satisfied, Tali went back to working on the engines and Shepard departed from the landing site with Garrus and Liara. They marched through the forest, coming closer to the ditched pirate ship. Its beacon had been switched off, however EDI and Samantha, hacking at their best, had been able to find out its position from triangulating the last active scans the pirates had done.

Suddenly Liara stepped into a puddle in the underbrush and could feel a soft feeling under her foot and a panicked squeak as - something - hushed away from under her sole. She recoiled but, remembering the mission, stopped from crying out.

In the distance, the pirate ship was landed on a patch of clear land in the jungle. It was obvious that it had be hurried to ground by someone less proficient at piloting than the tandem of Joker and EDI that was at the helm of the Normandy.

During their rapid descent, they had grazed along the treetops, knocking over a portion of the jungle before coming into contact with solid ground. The drag marks had piled heaps of turf on the sides of the corridor. The ship itself had seen little damage, at least during the crash, having been in sub-prime condition to begin with.

Several of the pirates were standing guard outside, their guns at the ready. The ramp to the inside of the ship was lowered, but Shepard could not see into the inside.

Shepard gave Garrus and Liara a sign to go into position for the attack. They would have to neutralise the pirates quickly, or risk getting overwhelmed by numbers. He and Garrus raised their DMRs while Liara concentrated, preparing a biotic singularity.

Shepard and Garrus fired their rifles at two of the pirates. The Batarians were thrown back, involuntarily firing to the air, and collapsed. The others retreated into cover and from the inside of the ship, four other pirates emerged,mtaking cover behind the sides of the cargo bay.

Liara knew what to do. Flinging her hands forward, she released a singularity. The singularity lifted the pirates up, letting Shepard and Garrus take them out with their DMRs. When the singularity ended, the pirates fell to the ground, already dead.

Shepard and Garrus rushed inside. The pirate captain had armed himself with a pistol, but it was useless. A well-aimed shot from Shepard's rifle knocked the weapon out of the pirates hands.

"I surrender.", the pirate uttered as he was handcuffed by Garrus.

Shepard asked him: "That should have taught you to go pirating when a Spectre is around. Where is that AA-Gun?"

"You ask me? Ha!", the pirate captain laughed: "Why don't you ask your own people?"

Shepard was confused: "What do you mean?"

"I mean that, after entering the atmosphere, we were hailed by some Spectre from the planet surface and ordered to keep our distance. Then they shot at us. We brought our ship down here. I thought it was you that hailed us."

On the way back to the Normandy, Shepard was pondering the origin of the hail and the shots. Why would a Spectre, out of all others, fire at a council ship? Was the IFF damaged?

GSV Normandy SR-3

In the Ship, he asked EDI: "EDI, check if we are correctly transmitting our IFF signal."

EDI checked the system: "Commander, I can conclude that we are indeed correctly transmitting our identification as a Council vessel."

"Hail out to all vessels in range. Use both open and Council frequencies."

"Done, Commander"

The hail was answered: "Attention unknown vessel. You are interfering in Citadel Council matters. Surrender all weapons and prepare to be boarded. We come with Spectre authority. Do not attempt resistance."

Shepard opened his eyes wide as he heard the message. He jumped up and opened a ship-wide channel: "This is Commander Shepard speaking. Attention all personnel! Evacuate all non-hardened areas immediately. We believe an attack is imminent."

As the engineers evacuated the areas outside and moved into the inner areas of the ship, Shepard, Liara, Tali, Garrus and several marines went into the airlock.

Looking at the CCTV-feed from outside, they could see the abandoned site. Some equipment was still strewn around, leaving quite an eerie sight to see. In the distance, an rover was heard, knocking though the jungle.

The group raised their weapons as the rover came bashing though the final line of trees on the fringe of the jungle. The vehicle came to a halt and several Asari commandos stepped out.

The commandos swarmed out, securing the area before advancing towards the Normandy. They started a breach attempt at the door when Shepard made it open from the inside.

He raised his gun at the head of the nearest Asari: "Drop your weapons. I am Commander Shepard, Spectre of the Council."

The Asari did not drop her weapon. Instead, she too shouted: "Drop your gun! I am an emissary of a Spectre, and you are an imposter. You are not sending the Council-FF or your authentification code."

An Asari in red armor stepped up from the rover: "Everyone! Stop this and let it be alright already." She walked up into thr airlock: "Shepard. I did not think I would see you again so quickly."

Shepard looked at her: "Samara? What are you doing here?"

"I think we will need to have a talk."

GSV Normandy SR-3, Communications Room

"So tell me, what brings you here, Shepard?"

"Well, nothing much. Just some pirates. But then we got shot down, and your people threatened us."

"We weren't sure who we were dealing with. Your IFF didn't show up Council. So we played it safe."

"But our IFF is functioning correctly. We have just checked that. My spectre authentification code should be transmitted as well."

"That is – unusual. May the technology have failed us? Anyway, Shepard, I can sense you are honest, and therefore I will let you go. We can even help with the repairs."

"Wouldn't mind the help. But, what happened to you after the war? Last time we met, you were being transferred to Thessia."

"Well, you know the usual things. After the war, the Justicars were put to use in reconstruction. We rebuilt Thessia. Then, I got an offer from the council. I light of my accomplishments, I was awarded Spectre status. I am since leading my followers to serve the Galaxy."

"Shepard, tell me: How did you fare after your recovery?"

"I uncovered Matriarch Tevos' scheming together with Liara."

"Ah yes. I heard about that. What a shame."

"Then, our government gave me even more honours to deal with. As you know, Canada, where I live now in Vancouver, is still part of the Commonwealth. The Monarch knighted me, making me Sir John Shepard and Liara is now the first non-human fellow of the royal society."

"It was nice catching up with you."

"And what brought you here?"

"Ah, just a simple assignment. Asari High Command wanted us to take out some rogue scientists doing dangerous experiments with Prothean tech."

"And where are they?"

"Haven't found them yet, but we are searching. We got help from Velvet Company, an Asari SpecOps."

"Ah well. Like old times."

Liara entered the room. She noticed Samara, but immediately turned to Shepard: "One week ago, I was contacted by a fellow researcher from the London Royal Society. She asked me on my opinion about her research and presented me with her findings. On Virmire, she had discovered ruins. I told her to go ahead and follow her aspirations."

"On Virmire? You mean she is here?"

"Yes, she is."

Samara looked at Liara: "Is her name Dr. Laura Smith?"

Liara raised an eyebrow: "Yes. It is. How did you know that?"

"My mission here is to bring her to justice. She has been conducting unauthorized experiments on prothean artifacts.

"But I know her! She would never do that!"

Samara was called over her InterCom: "Matriarch, Velvet Company reporting in. We have located the perpetrator and are moving into position. She is hiding out in an ancient bunker."

Let me speak to her and I will find out how this could happen."

"Interesting. You know her? She has taken refuge in a bunker. Maybe you could talk her into surrender?"

"If you promise you will not harm her?"

"I promise."

"Then let us go. She sent me the coordinates of her dig-site."

"There is no time to lose! We have to bring her to justice.", Samara said, jumping up. Noticing the glare that Shepard and Liara laid upon her, she added: "Peacefully."


	11. Ancient Truth

**Smith-Expedition Dig-Site "Alpha"**

The Asari commandos of Velvet Company were storming against the reinforced bunkers as a YMIR-mech shot at them from the top of the reinforcements, scattering the assailants into cover. Suddenly, it stopped firing.

Samara came running onto the battlefield, waving her hands over head to call off the Huntresses: "Everyone! Stop the hostilities. Ms. Smith has agreed to negotiations.

The heavy bunker door opened and a woman carrying a DataPad came running out: "I surrender myself. But first let me talk to Dr. T'Soni."

Liara and Shepard made their way through the crowd of commandos, towards the bunker entrance: "Laura. It is alright. Let us talk."

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Communications Room**

Liara was stumped: "So you are telling me, someone in Asari High Command is falsely accusing you?"

"For Gods sake, Yes! These aren't even Prothean ruins!"

"Yes, the sigils don't match up. So what? It's from an earlier cycle."

"I did C-14 dating on some remains are found. They are about 55,000 years old. Do you see the problem?"

"Wait, you mean 55,000 years ago? The Protheans were not even FTL-space-faring then."

"And it's after the previous cycle. Virmire would have been in dead space then."

"We have to explore these ruins further."

Samara stood up: "Then the accusation was baseless. My work here is done. I will assign a team to help you with your thrusters. Velvet Company can return, but my followers will stay to render assistance."

**Smith-Expedition Dig-Site "Alpha", lower levels**

Liara, Laura, Tali and Shepard were walking through level after level of dusted corridors. Tali's Drone went ahead scanning the area for any dangers.

"A facility this big must have been controlled by some VI. Even if it is already deactivated, we should still be able to salvage some data."

Shepard raised his word: "And if it is still active? Remember, Vigil and Vendetta held 45,000 years."

"Then, we might learn even more."

The four came upon a closed door. Tali held her hand up, signalling the others to stop.

"I detect electronical equipment on the other side. Still active."

Tali placed her Omni-Tool on the wall. It emitted beeping sounds as it tried to open the door. Finally, it succeeded and the door swung open.

Behind the door, a large chamber appeared, filled with darkness. As the group entered, a light in the middle pulsated.

A beeping sound started. "Information gathering complete.", a disembodied voice said. The lights in the room went on, plunging the chamber into glaring brightness.

Shepard could see the white walls, the high ceiling and the projector in the middle. A yellow silhouette emanated from the projector beam.

"Information indicates end to extinction cycles. Utilisation of Crucible device is confirmed. Outcome satisfactory. Database lockdowns are rescinded."

Liara walked up to the silhouette of a VI: "Who are you?"

"I am Sentinel. The last guardian of this place. I am – was the last hope of the Inusannon."

"Explain."

"When the reaper devastated the Galaxy in our cycle, we had little choice. Unable to defeat them, our best and brightest hid themselves away in deep space, at the sacrifice of many other. We knew that even so, the Reapers would come back and exterminate us."

"What did you do?"

"The last thing we had was hope. Not for ourselves, but for those that could come after us. We initiated Project Destiny, to find the race that had the optimal attributes. The smartest, most progressive, strongest, fastest, best. We achieved our goal. Then, we initiated Project Ascension. To uplift this race, leave them with optimal abilities, a stable society, to face the reapers. We settled them on a planet we had scouted. We called them the Ih-sar-ah. In our language, it meant last hope."

"Which race did you uplift?"

"We called them the Rawspawn. Bipedal, aggressive, but also social and innovative. The optimal candidates. I cannot go into bigger detail. Most data was deleted to stop it from falling into the hands of the reapers."

"So you don't know what happened?"

"I do not. However, there is a miniature Relay here. It is co-traversable and leads to our base on the home planet of the Ih-Sar-Ah. It was activated by the blast of the crucible, as a contingency mechanism. There, more information will be available."

On the other side of the room, a gate opened. The metal slab retreated into the ceiling, screeching along the walls. The blue shimmer that came from the Relay lit the chamber that contained it.

Laura was so surprised by the unusual that she dropped her DataPad: "All these wonders. Under our feet all along."

Shepard called the Normandy: "EDI. We are about to traverse a conduit, similar to the one on Ilos. Relocate us over the CommRelays once we are there."

Liara opened her eyes wide: "Shepard. You can't possibly…"

"Oh, yes. I can. Tali, send your drone through. We have to know if it is traversable."

"Yes, Shepard. Drone away."

The floating sphere, glowing orange, made its way through the conduit. As it came into close proximity, it connected with the blue Mass Effect field. It disappeared, leaving lingering Bremsstrahlung behind it.

Tali looked forwards, concentrated onto the conduit with her OmniTool up: "Now let's see." The drone reappeared from the relay: "Creator, the relay is traversable and safe on the other side."

Shepard turned to her: "Tali? The drone called you a 'Creator'? Really?"

"I found - backups. Like the one EDI had. I might even be working on a project, but..."

Shepard took Liara and Tali by the hands: "Doesn't matter. Lets go." They ran towards the blue vortex and when they were close enough, they were engulfed, flung lightyears through space. Laura was still left behind. Cursing Shepard for running ahead, she decided to take the chance too. She ran towards the conduit and was transported through space.

**Ascension Laboratory, Unknown Location**

Shepard stood up, still spitting dust: "Is everyone alright?"

Tali, Liara and Laura still groaned from the force of the impact. The transit had not been soft. The Relay was glowing brightly, lighting up the room.

"I'm OK, Shepard.", Liara stood up. Tali and Laura followed her.

"Where are we?"

Laura activated the flashlight on her OmniTool and held it at the wall: "Same sigils here. This is an Inusannon ruin."

A VI activated from the wall: "Greetings. I detect a defeat of the reapers. All database locks are rescinded. Welcome to Project Ascension. Here, we have worked to create the perfect species."

Liara looked at the VI that had just activated: "Greetings as well. Which race did you create? And why have we not heard of it?"

"It is likely you have heard of the Ih-Sar-Ah. They are powerful and we left them considerable technology."

"Even the mighty can fall, through hubris. What makes you so sure that I know them?"

The VI brought up a hologram of the Ih-sar-ah. It slowly constituted, leaving Liara speechless. The VI commented: "Because you are one of them."

EDI reported in over the InterCom: "Shepard, I have successfully located you."

"Where are we?"

With a single word, EDI brought confirmation that the VI was saying the truth: "Thessia."


	12. Finding Answers

**New Temple of Athame, Thessia**

Several Asari were standing in front of the statue of Athame, their goddess. They were looking at the signs, meditating, praying. Two of them stood with their bondmates.

The two Human women had a look on their faces that made their opinion about this ancient ritual clear, yet they stayed, out of love and respect to the Asari culture.

A floor tile moved. Soon, a crowd had gathered around the shaking tile. Finally, with a burst, it flew upwards. Shepard exited, knocking dust off his armour. Next, Liara, Tali and Laura came out.

Laura looked around: "So that is where we are, interesting."

After leaving the temple, Liara activated the VI she held in her hand to ask it: "Now, who did you create the Asari from? We - everyone - deserves to know who the Rawspawn' are"

"The exact details are lost. The Reaper you knew as Souvereign attacked our base in their home system. This happened two-thousand years before the first interstellar spaceflight of the Protheans, according to your data."

"50,000 BC."

"Yes. Some of us managed to flee and take the Ih-sar-ah with them. We fled to this planet and continued our work. Eventually, we had done it. Unified all good attributes in a single species. Intelligent, yet social. Pacifistic, yet willing to fight for good. Long childhoods, biotic abilities, monogendered. We created the perfect society where the Ih-sar-ah and the remaining Inusannon lived in peace."

"Goddess. The paradise of Asari mythology was once reality."

"Yes. But when the Protheans came, they hunted us down. They enslaved the Asari and committed genocide on the Inusannon. Our leader had accepted an Asari as his wife. Together, they fled to the laboratory. But with the Protheans in pursuit, they activated the self-destruct mechanism, taking thousands of Protheans with them. I was spared in the lower chambers to preserve the truth for the future. However, I was not outfitted with all information. The Protheans had already stormed our data centre, taking all our information with them. I therefore do not possess the knowledge you seek. The only ones that might know were the Protheans."

Liara was disappointed by the relative lack of answers to all the Sentinel had prompted: "The truth about the Rawspawn, the Asari is out there, ours to find. I have to find a way."

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Research and Intelligence Lab, Landing Bay A-19, Thessia Main Spaceport**

Liara bent over the VI data that she had salvaged. Trying to piece together what had happened. Who the Rawspawn were. Where the Asari came from.

She listened to the VIs again and again, but no new information came to light. The information about the origin of the Rawspawn had been deleted. EDI and Samantha had initially helped her to recover the data from the drives, but had given up already. While EDI was going over the ship reports, Samantha had disappeared into her cabin.

Shepard entered the room and walked up to her, putting his arms around her waist, and placed a kiss on the tip of one of the headcrests. Over time, they had developed a weak but permanent version of the Bond and he could feel her exhaustion.

She leaned backwards, against him. "I feel so - tired."

"I wouldn't wonder. You worked for 17 hours straight. You deserve a break."

"You think so, Shepard?" She smiled: "You're probably right." She turned around and placed a long kiss onto his lips. He took his arm and put it around her shoulder and back, pressing her against him. Liara also put her arms behind Shepard's back and, after breaking the kiss, deeply looked into his eyes with their foreheads touching.

He started to smile too: "I'll get you to bed. You need some rest."

Liara's steps were weak as Shepard led her out of the lab. Padok Wiks looked up from his DataPad on which he was currently studying the physiology of the Raloi. "Humans. Typical.", he muttered as he turned back to his documents.

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Bridge, Landing Bay A-19, Thessia Main Spaceport**

Shepard entered the bridge, having just dropped off Liara at their cabin. He also wanted to catch some rest, but before that, he would have to formally hand over command for the night. He had tried to call Kelly, so that she could do it for him, but she seemed to be unavailable over InterCom and absent from the bridge.

Garrus was sitting on a seat adjacent to the main conn. He looked up to his Commander: "Turning in for the night, Shepard?"

Shepard could suddenly feel how tired he had become. Liara's exhaustion had rubbed off onto him over the meld. "Yes, I am. Take care, will you?"

"I will, Shepard. Tali's coming up in an hour and since we're on blue light, there's a peaceful night shift coming up. Finally. The thing on Virmire really shaked me. And I thought I missed the violence. Guess there's a difference between fighting a war and being friendly fired without warning."

"See you in ten hours then."

Garrus winked at Shepard: "Have a good night."

Shepard walked back to his cabin, where Liara had already laid down in the bed, and took off his uniform. He joined her under the sheets and, with his arms around her back, she hummed a quiet melody as both drifted off into the sleep they had so desperately needed.

A so felt eternity later, but actually only six hours later, Shepard woke up. He tried to pull Liara closer for an embrace before getting up, but her place in bed was vacant. Sighing, he put on his deck uniform and left the cabin.

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Research and Intelligence Lab, Landing Bay A-19, Thessia Main Spaceport**

Shepard entered the Lab on his search for Liara, holding a coffee and a tea. While he liked a drink of coffee every morning, Asari physiology meant that caffeine interfered with their biotic abilities. Tea was fair game though, so he had made her a cup from the Earl Grey Samantha had given him. As he expected, Liara was to be found where she had been the day before, standing over the VI data once again.

She turned around to him: "Shepard. You were right; this isn't going to work like this. I have to give up on this lead."

"So you don't want to find out the truth about the descent of the Asari? But why? Is this not the mystery you had longed for so badly the last months?"

Liara smiled now: "It is. And I won't give up on it now. The Prothean Beacon that contained Vendetta held other data; Data which was recorded in the recovery operations in the temple. It should be stored in the Academy Library, here on Thessia."

Shepard smiled along as he followed her train of thought: "I guess that means…"

"A little research trip, Yes."

**Grand Academy of Arts and Sciences, Library wing, Thessia**

Liara and Shepard entered the main Library. Around them, Asari maidens were studying their planet's history, Science and the Arts. The entire knowledge available to the Asari was stored here, in the Library of the Grand Academy of Thessia. Here, the information recovered from the Prothean Beacon would be found.

Liara walked up to the catalogue VI hologram: "Search request: 'Contents Prothean Beacon Thessia'"

The catalogue returned: "82 results found."

Liara had to narrow the results down: "Truncate Year of Publication before 2186."

"Limitation complete. 8 results remaining"

"Show results."

Liara copied the list onto her DataPad. She loved researching, spending time among the tomes of knowledge that had been gathered in Millennia. Together with Shepard, she walked to the reading room.

**Grand Academy of Arts and Sciences, Reading room, Thessia**

Eventually, Liara closed the window with the last book, now frustrated once again.

"We won't progress like this. All the important information is classified."

Shepard looked up to her: "We can't give up now. Even if it is classified, it's still here, right?"

"Yes, but in the Level 4 vault. Only accessible with direct permission from the Republics."

Shepard smiled: "Interesting."

**Grand Academy of Arts and Sciences, Level-4-Vault, Thessia**

"Spectre Status recognised. Commander Sir John Shepard, Systems Alliance."

The door opened.

"See, it worked."

Liara gave Shepard a kiss on the cheek: "What would I do without you?"

"Stand in front of a locked door, I suppose."

Liara chuckled and entered the vault. Inside, a legendary wealth of knowledge lay. She went directly to the VI terminal. "Open the Dossier on the Prothean Beacon" She was immediately lost in the wealth of information, the Prothean Records being so vast that the files about the Inusannon were just a needle in a haystack. Liara was ripped out of her wide-eyed search by the clanking sound of military boots entering the vault.

Several Asari Commandos clad in purple armour entered the vault. Liara turned around. She immediately noticed the insignia of the Velvet Skull. From her work as the Shadow Broker with Council Intelligence, she knew that the Velvet Skulls were a BlackOps unit of Asari High Command.

An Asari with a shrouded "Liara T'Soni, you are arrested for high treason."

Liara asked the woman: "Says who?"

The shrouded figure lifted up her hood, revealing herself as Matriarch Tevos: "I do. Sadly, you will not reach the trial. Instead, you will disappear. There was a – shuttle crash. I regret that it has to end like this. But business is business."

Liara raised her pistol: "Never. The truth about the Asari must not die. Only over my dead body."

Tevos stepped back: "Very well."

Suddenly, from the side a commando appeared and, before Liara could react, had ripped her pistol straight from her hands. The assailant whipped Liara in the back of the neck with the pistol, shouting angrily: "This is for Tela!"

Liara was knocked to the floor. Her head felt dizzy, but she collected the concentration she had left. Where was Shepard? He had entered the vault together with Liara, but where did he go after she had been browsing the files? It must have been hours. And who was Tela? Maybe Tela Vasir? The rogue spectre she had taken down on Illium, with Shepard, two years ago? Liara pulled herself to her knees and looked up. She muttered: "And you are?"

"My name is Rina Vasir. You killed my sister, and now, I will take revenge!"

Liara looked back at Tevos: "But why? Why all this? How did you escape from prison? How did you get the Velvet Skulls behind you?"

"My dear girl T'Soni. Is it not obvious? I still have friends in high places. Together, we will rebuild the lost glory of the Asari and restore our natural supremacy as the galactic Master Race. It was all so – perfect. We had the galaxy under our control. The Turians served us loyally, the Salarians were just interested in the research we had conducted, and the other races could be kept under control. Our methods – infiltration, seduction and domination held firm. But then humanity showed up. They didn't respect us and expanded like – cancer. The reaper war was the final straw. Our people shall rise again. But you will not. Kill her, Rina."

A pistol was raised to Liara's head. Rina tried to mock her one last time: "This is much too gentle a death. Sadly, I have no time to make you suffer enough."

Liara could hear the safety being pushed back. Where was Shepard? She felt so helpless. Worse than when Thessia fell. She had had hope left back then, but there was no hope now. Rina would kill her, and hide the truth about the Asari. Liara gulped. A shot fell and a dead Asari hit the floor.


	13. Into Darkness

Liara opened her eyes again, surprised to be alive. A shot had been fired alright, but not at her. In front of her eyes, Rina collapsed. Her forehead showed a little purple point, the place she had just been shot. Suddenly, another Commando dropped dead. Reacting instinctively, Liara threw a Singularity in front of her, catching the Velvet Skulls off-guard as they desperately scrambled to find the sniper, and then jumped around the corner, removing herself from the hostile line of fire.

From her new location, she could see the sniper. Shepard was there, driving the rogue operatives into cover behind the walls. But when one of them placed a turret, Shepard was forced into cover. Liara quickly ran up the stairs, to escape the fire of the turret and took refuge behind the railing that lined the elevated walkway.

Shepard fired an incineration charge at the turret, failing to do real damage. And now, the Commandos advanced again. Suddenly, the door was blown open. Out came shooting a Turian. Garrus fired his DMR into the room, breaking the deadly charge of the Commandos. Tali stormed after him and picked off the turret with an EMP-Overload before it could turn to fire at them. Shepard returned fire as well. The Commandos that had attacked the Liara and the Commander lost woman after woman and were forced into retreat.

However, Tevos was not giving up as easily. With a biotic push, she slammed Garrus against the wall. She raised her pistol: "Mind over Matter, Turian."

Suddenly, as from nowhere, Tali came running up. The stock of her shotgun hit Tevos right in the jaw, delivering a knock-down blow. Tali immediately jumped down onto Tevos, sitting on her chest and restraining her arms, angrily shouting: "You bosh'tet!" Tali punched Tevos, straight on in the face. "Nobody" Punch. "messes" Punch. "with" Punch. "my Garrus!" Knockout.

Garrus stood up and had to pull Tali off Tevos to prevent his girlfriend killing the former Councillor. "Tali! She's not worth it. We need her alive."

Shepard walked down the walkway he and Liara had taken refuge to and called to Garrus: "That was close call. Good thing you two showed up. How'd you know that we got into a sticky situation here?"

Garrus put his DMR on his back: "Ah, yes. Some Asari with mean-looking uniforms showed up at the Normandy. Wanted to confiscate the ship. One of them left her communicator on, and we overheard 'engaging Shepard'. After we took 'em out, we had Samantha locate you through your beacon and, well – here we are."

Shepard slapped handcuffs on the still moaning Tevos: "Forward. We'll bring you to court. This time, for good."

Outside, the Normandy swooped in for a landing. The group entered with their prisoner and, as the Ship soared into the skies again, Tevos scoffed directly into Shepard's face: "How will you do that? My people are everywhere on Thessia. No public office, no court, no council, no parliament they haven't infiltrated. No one will believe you. I will make them."

Liara could not believe it. Her home planet, Thessia, infiltrated by a perversion of democracy, a dictatorship of some mighty, acting in 'the best interest of the people'. She had enough. "Shepard. We can't… We can't leave her here. We have to bring her to earth, so she can stand trial there."

Shepard brought Tevos to the brig, then returned to the bridge. He took his place at the conn, then gave his orders: "Set course for the Parnitha relay and prepare a transfer to Charon."

Joker and EDI set the course. With their Commander's "Engage!" they departed on their long voyage home.

**Asari Republics Grand Dockyard, Thessia**

Lidanya stepped out of her shuttle. She had just received the news of the shootout in the vault. "Where is Shepard?" she asked her Lieutenant.

"The Commandos took heavy losses and failed. Shepard escaped on the Normandy and…"

"And what? Tell me. NOW!" Lidanya shouted at her Lieutenant.

"Matriarch Tevos was taken hostage by them. They are fleeing the System."

"By Athame, the time has come." Lidanya stepped back into her shuttle. "Bring me to the Destiny Ascension."

The shuttle flew out of the dockyard and into Orbit where the Destiny Ascension was in space dock after being decommissioned by the Council. Lidanya had been honourably discharged from the Republic Fleet and offered a position in the Matriarch Council by Irissa. Eventually, Irissa had tasked her with the recruitment of huntresses for – special - tasks. That day, the Velvet Skulls were created. The Sorority of the Velvet Skull, as it was officially called did the dirty work the Republics.

Eventually, Lidanya and Irissa had visited the former councillor Tevos in prison. There Lidanya had realised for the first time the truth about the Asari. A truth she had to keep secret to uphold Asari supremacy. If the Asari were not the apex of their planet's evolution, but instead a creation of another species, how could they be the supreme species in the Galaxy?

Lidanya had to react. The Velvet Skulls had to keep the truth. When Dr. Smith made her discovery on Virmire, the news spread to Lidanya quickly. She had to silence Dr. Smith, whatever the cost. Her loyal Velvet Company was dispatched along with an Asari Spectre to eliminate the rebel scientist. But Shepard had intervened, saving the life of the scientist.

The Destiny Ascension had been reactivated and transferred to the Velvet Skulls shortly after its decommission from the Republican Fleet. Knowing that only few could be trusted on a project as important as this, Lidanya had ordered modifications to the ship. Where previously ten-thousand of Thessia's finest had served, only empty walkways and hangars were now lined up. Almost all functions could be taken over by the on-board VI, letting it operate with minimal crew, if necessary.

Finally, Lidanya had made the final step to make the Destiny Ascension her own. No longer would it stand for the ideals of the Asari; instead it would defend them with righteous might. It was no longer the Destiny Ascension; Lidanya had rechristened it 'Destiny Vengeance'.

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Sol-System**

The Normandy left the Relay corridor and trailed blue Bremsstrahlung behind it. Joker and EDI got ready for the orbital insertion and landing on Earth. Shepard sat back in his seat relaxed, the nightmare was over. He could turn over Tevos to justice and then…

His thought were interrupted by a shot the Normandy took from another ship. The ship was shaken, throwing Shepard off balance. On the rear view-screen, he could see an Asari Dreadnought approach. The Normandy was hailed by Lidanya: "Attention. Lower your shields, turn over your hostage and surrender your weapons. Failure to comply will result in your immediate destruction."

Shepard ran up to Joker: "Can we outrun them to earth?"

Joker smiled: "Them? Yes. Their guns? Well, maybe. We can sure as hell risk it, but I can't be sure."

Shepard turned around to Samantha: "Report out surrender. I am not endangering the lives off all hands aboard this ship."

Liara interrupted him: "Shepard. We can't do that. If we let Lidanya win, it was all for nought. Do you think, she would really let us go now? After all the things we found out about the Asari? The people deserve to know the truth. We can't let it die."

Shepard took a deep breath. He was eager to take risks when necessary, but this seemed just too big for him. Still, he decided to take it on: "Order revoked. Immediate course for Earth."

The flight of the Normandy was followed by a reaction by the Destiny Vengeance as well. It resumed fire with a barrage from its Mass Accelerator Cannons, hitting the Normandy.

On the bridge, the damage seemed inconsequential, but in engineering, Kenneth saw a situation far worse emerge. The primary cooling system had been disabled, and the redundant backups too were failing quickly. He ran to a console to check the damage. Disheartened and desperate, he called the bridge: "Commander! The cooling system is down, and the Mass Effect Core is lighting up like a Christmas tree! I cannae keep it stable. We have to eject the Core!"

Shepard wasted no time: "Eject immediately, then."

However, Joker had something to say about it too: "Wait a second. Just moving us into position." He pushed the Normandy nose down, so that the ejection shaft was pointed directly at the Destiny Vengeance.

In Engineering, Kenneth pushed the button for the emergency ejection of the Mass Effect Core. A deafening sound rumbled through Engineering as the Core left its housing, which was replaced by silence as soon only the vacuum of space separated the Core from its ship. The Core flew through space, towards the Destiny Vengeance. Lidanya attempted an evasion manoeuvre, but it was too late.

The Core was sucked up into the Thruster Vortex at the front. The Mass Effect fields induced a massive Alcubierre field inside the Core, bringing the mix of now plasmatic Iridium and the Hydrogen fuel to sub-nuclear detonation. The massive dreadnought was crippled as explosions ripped through the entire ship.

**Destiny Vengeance, Bridge**

"Damage report, NOW!", Lidanya shouted at her lieutenant as soon as the chain of explosions stopped.

"We have taken severe damage. Our main reactors are offline. Life support has power for eight hours left. All weapon systems are offline. Main propulsion is offline. ARCS and TRCS are operating with emergency power."

Lidanya knew she had lost. But she could still take her enemies down with her: "Immediate deorbit. Target Alliance Headquarters, Vancouver. So be it. We will die today for the glory of Thessia and take the Alliance with us. May the divine wind of Athame be with us today."

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Bridge**

Joker reported to the Commander: "Shepard, we got these Daughters of Bitches real hard. They are reduced to their emergency RCS." He looked at his panel, in shock: "Wait. This can't be right. They are attempting a deorbit. Their projected impact location is Vancouver."

Shepard knew he had to react quickly. If he wanted to save Vancouver, he had to board the Destiny Ascension and reinsert it into orbit. He jumped up, fetched Garrus, Tali and Liara and called to Engineering: "Kenneth, Gabby, come to the Hangar 2 in full RI-gear. We'll have to do some on-site work."


	14. Enlightment Restored

The Kodiak left the Normandy shuttle bay, with Shepard, Liara, Garrus, Tali, Kenneth and Gabriella aboard. The pilot seat was empty, as EDI was steering the shuttle remotely. To evade the sensors of the Destiny Vengeance, the shuttle approached on a course that circled around the dreadnought several times before eventually spiralling in into the hangar.

Inside, the once so mighty ship was deserted. Deck across deck, the hallways were void of any crew, leaving Shepard and his party an easy passage. Once they got down to Engineering, directed by the ever-helping voice of EDI, Kenneth, Gabriella and Tali scrambled to the terminals to reactivate the engines and prevent the Destiny Vengeance falling like a rock out of the sky and ploughing through Vancouver, undoubtedly causing millions of deaths.

Shepard, Garrus and Liara continued back upwards in the ship. Eventually, they reached the corridor just outside the bridge, having encountered no resistance along the way. The only crew was on the bridge, possible only due to the modifications made in secret by the Velvet Skull, to enable an operational status with as few as possible conspirators.

The three went into position around the door that separated the bridge from the corridor. Garrus put a breaching charge on the door and Liara raised a singularity. Then, they breached to the bridge. Shepard and Garrus came in with DMRs blazing while Liara threw her singularity. Several of the conspirators fell immediately to gunfire.

Lidanya too was hit by one of Shepard's shots and fell, wounded but alive, off her chair at the conn. A gun put against her head by Liara ended the firefight, with the Commandos surrendering to save their Matriarch. Garrus disarmed and handcuffed the Commandos while Shepard and Liara administered Medi-Gel to the wounded Commandos.

Lidanya taunted Shepard: "You may have arrested us, but soon, we shall all die for the glory of Athame, and take your pitiful Alliance with us."

Shepard knelt down to Lidanya, who was leaning against the conn table, and chuckled: "I don't think so. Three of our finest engineers are in your engine room. They'll return your ship onto a stable orbit around earth. Your game is over."

Lidanya snickered at Shepard: "It has just begun. I still have one trump left. Two of my most experienced Commandos seem to have escaped your grasp."

Only now did Shepard notice that a hatch, hidden in the back, was opened.

"My Commandos will kill your engineers and make sure that the supremacy of the Asari does not end today."

Garrus walked up to Lidanya and held her tightly at the neck. She was gasping for air as he lifted her up: "That's my Tali you are talking about."

Lidanya had trouble speaking, yet did not miss the opportunity to taunt the Turian that was lifting her by the neck: "Defiance in the face of death. Once the alliance of your human friends has been decapitated in Vancouver, the power of the Hegemony will crumble under the iron fist of my sisters."

Garrus dropped her: "Not if I stop you."

Suddenly, a rumble hit the Destiny Vengeance, and a console on the wall reported a hull breach in Engineering.

Lidanya looked at Shepard: "It seems you are too late. Your Engineers are dead, and at last we will have revenge."

The Turian eyes of Garrus lost their soul as he gazed at the console on the wall. He raised his gun at Lidanya, ready to kill the Asari that was at fault for Tali's death. But then, moments before he pulled the trigger, his InterCom reported an incoming call. As he heard Tali's voice on the other end, he lowered his weapon, relaxed.

**Engineering, Destiny Vengeance, Five Minutes Earlier**

Kenneth and Tali were working on the consoles while Gabby was busy replacing the blown Tokamak coils that conducted the streams of superheated Helium through the underbelly of the ship. If they could not bring the TRCS back online, the course of the Destiny Vengeance would come down right into downtown Vancouver, bringing with it death and destruction.

Gabby clicked the last Tokamak into position and returned up to the platform where Kenneth and Tali were just finished setting the new course. Kenneth got ready to engage it when he heard the sound of running boots in the distance, prompting him to pause and look around.

In the distance, he could see Asari Commandos running down the walkways to the three Engineers current position. Quick thinking would be required to escape this calamity. He turned around to Gabby, activating on his RIG-visor. The visor wrapped around his head, prompting Gabby to do the same.

The Velvet Skulls closed in fast on the three, yet Kenneth stayed calm. "Sole Magnets!" he called into a closed channel between them, leaving the assailants unaware of his plan.

"Hands up." the Commando that was pushing her gun into Tali's back ordered them. While Tali and Gabby obeyed, Kenneth held his hands at his waist. The Asari repeated herself: "Now, or you will all die."

Kenneth obeyed now, but, when his hands were raised above his head and the Commando turned around to her accomplice, he activated his OmniTool and shot an Incineration charge at the side of the Vortex stream-chamber. The wall gave way to the burst, opening the interior of Engineering to the vacuum of space. The two Commandos were sucked out, being taken by such utter surprise that they had no time to react.

After the coast was clear of the assailants, Kenneth activated a shielding field, isolating the room from space once again and repressurized the compartment. After deactivating their RIG-visors again, Kenneth and Gabriella resumed their work while Tali reported in to Garrus.

Kenneth looked at the delta-v numbers and noticed a discrepancy: "Gabby, the numbers are way off. The remaining propellant is not enough to raise perigee out of the atmosphere."

Gabby smiled: "Using the traditional, linear, tokamak field configuration, indeed not. However, you remember my PhD-thesis, right?"

The idea that Gabby had dawned on Kenneth slowly, but surely, prompting a smile: "You mean your 'Reaction Gas Dispersal Reduction through Spiral Tokamak Field Configurations'?"

"Exactly. Which, by raising the specific impulse by 12%, therefore gives us enough delta-v to complete the re-insertion burn."

"My girl is a genius." Kenneth replied to her statement, his head coming closer, in range for a kiss.

The intimacy was interrupted by Tali: "Do you two want to be alone? We still need to actually do the burn, you know."

Kenneth was not stopped by this interruption, and after finishing their kiss, Gabby turned around to the console, where she entered her Tokamak configuration and executed the burn.

The Destiny Vengeance was no longer in danger of hitting the earth, instead now being in a highly hyperbolic orbit around earth with a perigee at 120km and an apogee of 200,000km. Relieved, Kenneth sat down against the console with Gabby and leaned his head on her shoulder. Once again, Tali took it upon her to inform the others of her success.

**Alliance HQ, Gagarin Plaza, Vancouver, Earth**

Shepard and Liara walked up the steps to the HQ of the Alliance. Inside the entrance, Councillor Irissa awaited them with Samara and an entire platoon of Huntresses that had all raised their weapons. "Commander Shepard, I hereby revoke your Spectre Status and arrest you for treason against the Asari Republics."

Liara raised her gun and Shepard stared at Samara: "What is going on here?"

"I have been informed by the councillor that you are a traitor. Drop your weapons. Both of you."

Shepard lowered his weapon and signalled Liara to do the same. "Trust me, Samara. You are arresting the wrong person."

"Trust you? Why, after this? Why should I trust the man who I am told is a traitor, and distrust the woman who is my only superior?"

Shepard pulled up his OmniTool: "Because I have evidence." He showed her a recording of Tevos attack on the vault, her speech about Asari supremacy and Lidanya's threat on Vancouver.

Samara gave the Huntresses the signal to stand down and turned to point her gun at Irissa: "I am afraid the Commander is right. Your conspiracy has failed and you are under arrest by the authority granted to me by the other council members.

Samara raised her OmniTool: "I have submitted the evidence to plebiscite."

The results of the plebiscite showed up quickly, showing the opinion of the people. Irissa had overstayed her welcome with the Asari and the results were as expected. Almost everyone had voted for her impeachment. But the other result was more surprising. Not another politician from the Matriarch Council would succeed Irissa. Instead, Samara was chosen by the Plebiscite. She was rendered speechless.

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Research Lab, Vancouver**

Liara stood over the data from the Prothean Beacon she had recovered from the vault. Some of the information would certainly be of value to the Shadow Broker network, but that was not what she was after. She was looking for the truth about the Asari, the truth that the Velvet Skulls had worked so desperately to hide.

Then, just as Shepard entered the room, she found it. The Inusannon records that stated the origin of the Asari. Liara was speechless. She could not believe it. As Shepard approached her, she turned around to him, to tell him the truth:"Shepard. You have come in at a good time. I found the Inusannon data in the Prothean Beacon. The origin of the Asari is", she stopped, shaken by the magnitude of her discovery, "Humanity."

Shepard opened his eyes wide: "What? You're joking, right?"

"Shepard, I am not. This is the truth. The Inusannon made an expedition into Sol and found the humans. They recognized their quick development, and their potential to stop the Reapers. Then, they took specimens, and changed their biology to fit their view of a perfect species."

Shepard was just beginning to grasp the magnitude of the revelation that Liara had uncovered. What developments might now follow?


	15. The Greatest Gift

**Dawkins-Hall, Royal Society, London, Earth**

The lecture hall was filled to the brim with fellows and members of the press as Dr. Smith and Dr. T'Soni stepped down from the podium. They had broken the news to the scientific community and the public at large. Liara looked around and, on the other side of the room, caught sight of Shepard, Garrus, Tali, Joker, EDI, Samantha and Kelly.

As the crowd dispersed, the reporters rushing outside to contact their news agencies, Laura was surrounded by her colleagues, eager to hear the minutiae of her discoveries. Her evidence had gone beyond the contents of the Prothean Beacon - instead, it had provided the final proof that it was not a divine being that created the Asari, just another intelligent species with tens of millennia of experience in genetic engineering.

Before the contents of the beacon had been revealed, instead being kept secret by the Velvet Skull, every single one of her inquiries had been stonewalled by the Asari Government and the Grand Academy. They had clung on to the dogma that it was Athame that had created the Asari, while every other species had slowly evolved on their respective home planet.

But now, the truth was out in the open. The Inusannon had populated Thessia with the Asari and transplanted some Flora and Fauna along with them, working towards a goal of perfection: A perfect planet, a perfect species, a perfect society. After the Protheans had unknowingly wiped out the last Inusannon, it had taken them centuries to piece back together Asari history from data fragments. Eventually, they had decided to create the goddess of Athame to replace the legends of the Inusannon and keep up the facade.

The biomorphology and, most importantly, the biochemistry was so similar that it had seemed like an obvious step to assume common descent. While there were clear similarities between most sentient races, the other similarities were orders of magnitude below what Humans and Asari had in common.

Also, the biotic abilities of the Asari were, as Laura could prove beyond reasonable doubt, irreducibly complex, with several features showing clear signs of being artefacts of engineering done by an intelligent designer. In a sense, they were "on the cliff of Mount Improbable".

Laura glanced up, at the oil-painted picture of the namesake of the hall she had just talked in, hanging on the wall on the other side of the room. Even though she knew it was just an illusion, the old man seemed to smile at her. She smiled back.

Liara walked up to Shepard. Finally, the uncertainty that had permeated the last week was over as she found rest in his arms.

**Old Queen Vic's Pub, London, Earth**

The group was sitting in a pub, celebrating the events of the day. They had uncovered the Velvet Skull's conspiracy and finally got their well-earned rest.

Joker took a swig from his beer and set it down again: "Now that was one hell of a week. We start looking for pirates and end up stopping a conspiracy."

Shepard chuckled: "I never seem to get proper rest. Trouble just attracts me. Which they have in common with a certain Asari at this table." He turned to give Liara a kiss.

Liara broke free from when she saw a photo of Shepard come up on the TV in the corner of the room. She signaled the publican to turn up the volume.

"...mander Sir John Shepard. The data recovered by his actions had led to several arrests in the highest circles of the Asari Republics. Matriarch Lidanya, former Admiral of the Destiny Ascension has been arrested by Alliance forces while allegedly attempting to destroy a Council frigate with an unauthorizedly reactivated Destiny Ascension to silence witnesses. Matriarch Irissa, Member of the Citadel Council, has been impeached in a landslide plebiscite. Her elected successor is Matriarch Samara, the Spectre that had gotten the ball rolling after her colleague Shepard uncovered the evidence for the Asari's Human past and the conspirative group 'Sorority of the Velvet Skull', winning the popularity of her countrywomen. Stay tuned for a special report by Dr. Laura Smith, tonight on..."

Liara turned off the sound again. She sighed: "Now we've uncovered the same scandal twice. I hope we don't have to a third time. But what is the prison that can detain them, where they will not be freed by their accomplices?"

Shepard chuckled: "There's an old friend that I'd ask a favour", while paying the check and Liara got ready to leave. But when she turned around, she saw Shepard on his knees, holding a little box in his hands.

"Liara, I thought about this for so long. We have spent so much time together, as friends and more than that. You are the reason I survived the reaper war, just another reason to love you. Doctor Liara T'Soni, do you want to marry me?"

Only now did Liara see the engagement ring that Shepard held in his hands. She smiled at him: "Yes. I love you."

Shepard rose to his feet: "I love you too, Liara."

Liara kissed him: "I know."

**Main Dock, Omega**

The Normandy docked onto the space station and the Airlock opened to reveal Shepard and Garrus, driving three OmniCuffed Asari out. Aria entered the room, clapping into her hands with excitememt.

"Shepard! Nice to see you. I see you brought company?"

Shepard walked forward: "Yes."

Aria stepped forward, placing her hand against Tevos' face, sliding from her cheer to an angry growl: "Oh, you! Hasn't anyone told you how dammed bad for business you girls were?" She pulled Tevos closer to her face, and resumed her smile: "Well, you'll certainly have plenty of", a devilish grin went across her face, "opportunites to repay me now".

Shepard stepped up to Aria, holding up his OmniTool to transfer the payment: "Take care".

Aria laughed as she led Tevos, Irissa and Lidanya into her Shuttle: "The money's nice, but keeping 'em here's already its own reward."

Shepard exchanged a worried look with Garrus as the Normandy pulled out of the dock again: "Sounds nasty what Aria's got in store there."

The Turian sighed: "Yes. Still, better than locking them up on the Citadel, where they'd be freed by some co-conspirator tomorrow."

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Research and Intelligence Lab**

Padok Wiks exitedly hummed, working at the microscope over his sample. He was ready to test his theory about the longevity of the Asari. The cells were already dividing into a tenth generation. If the isolated proteine took effect, the telomeres would show no shorting or damage, even at atomic level.

Eventually, the cell division was finished and Padok analysed the cell nuclei. What he found surprised even him: Not one of the telomeres was damaged. The proteine had worked as intended and rebuilt the telomere tips.

He called out to Liara who was reading the day's intel on a seat: "Dr. T'Soni! The recovered data was correct. I have been able to synthesize the described proteine and injected it into sample cells. The telomeres were protected, and do not accumulate damage over time."

Liara looked up from her DataPad: "And that means that..."

"Using this proteine, a treatment can be constructed that dramatically slows down all aging processes in humans. This ability is innate to the Asari, where this proteine is present in all cells from birth. This should bring human lifespans up to those of Asari. The mechanism was described in the data from the Prothean Beacon; I would never have discovered it myself."

Liara opened her eyes wide. Relieved from a dark fear she had tried to block out for the last four years, she sank back into her seat. Tears of joy made their way down her cheeks and she left the lab for her and Shepard's cabin.

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Captain's Cabin**

In Shepard's cabin, she was awaited by her fiancee, holding a glass of Thessian wine in his hand. As she entered, he handed her a glass as well. Together, they sat down on the couch and looked into each other's eyes. The moment seemed to last in eternal bliss, but eventually their lips closed in on each other.

After they pulled apart again, Liara put her hand against Shepard's face: "Today, you have given me a great gift. The assurance that we will be together for the rest of our lives. Your proposal reminded me of my biggest fear: You withering away in a hundred years, leaving me behind to live a millennium in grief. From the beacon, Padok found the key to Asari longevity, and applied it to human cells. I..." She stuttered from the gravity of her relief. "will not be a widow in a hundred years."

Shepard could no longer keep his emotions at bay. He had always wondered what Liara would go on to do after his death, but this revelation brought him relief too. She had brought him to tears of joy as well. As the evening progressed, they talked on. The bottle of wine soon disappeared, and was replaced by a bottle of Whisky.

Eventually, they landed on their bed, entangled in a kiss. Before Liara initiated a meld, she whispered in his ear: "Today, you have given me the greatest gift anyone has ever received. I don't think I will ever be able to return this favour, but tonight, I will certainly try."


	16. -- Scars of the Soul: Sum Noctis --

**GSV Normandy SR-3, Kelly's and Samantha's Cabin, 2187.11.1**

Kelly returned to her cabin and was disappointed to see Samantha already sleeping. The previous two weeks had been stressful and she could understand the need to get some sleep, although she would have preferred to spend a romantic evening with Samantha. Kelly got down on the bed, crawling up to her girlfriend and pulled the blanket over them both.

She treasured the time she could spend with Samantha, her anchor in life, knowing that things hadn't always been so enjoyable. The memory of how they had met tied directly into the end to the darkest chapter of Kelly's life.

**Freya ****Residential Area, Apartment 47b****, Zakera Ward, Citadel****, 2187.8.17**

"Patient Name: Kelly Chambers. Age: 29. Patient matches 11 of the DSM-23 criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Her symptoms include paranoia, insommia and episodic flashbacks triggered by stressful social situations, claustrophobia. She compensates with severe substance abuse of oral cannabinoids, dermal nicotine and alcohol. Therapy takes place with MZP and encouraged socialization. MZP is given by day to enable workplace functioning while socialization is to take place in the evening and night to restore previous quantity and quality of social functioning."

Kelly ended her report. Every day, after she was through with the other patients, she went back to her apartment and became her own. Working with other people's PTSD on a daily basis in an attempt to escape her own was the one thing that still kept Kelly going.

She had to help them, she felt to be her duty. The MZP she took every morning would loose its calming effect soon, and she either had to be asleep or in Purgatory by then. Going to the hottest nightclub on the Citadel every evening was an unbearable thought to her sober self, but with alcohol in her veins, she was never too shy.

In the mornings she would sneak out of the bed of whomever she had slept with this night and get to her own apartment, where she caught up the final hours of sleep she needed before once again, fueled by coffee and her dedication to duty, starting her workday as a psychotherapist.

Spending the night with a man, a woman, a Turian or an Asari, occasionally more than one at once, was another way she tried to suppress her condition. While it worked, driving the nightmares away, one night at a time, when she woke up in the moning she would loath herself all over again.

The wounds the Collectors had left on her body had healed quickly, but the wounds on her soul never went away. After Shepard had freed her, her own mind became her prison. When Cerberus attacked the Citadel, she barely managed to flee, only escaping because she'd taken up another name.

Then, just six weeks later, the Reapers attacked the Citadel. The Presidium had been evacuated into the Wards and the Destiny Ascension, and Kelly had found herself in a blast-shelter room at the edge of a Ward; she had seen the Reapers moving the Citadel to Earth. When the Crucible was fired, the portion of the Ward that her shelter was in broke off and only the automated blast doors saved her and the millions of others in the thousands of shelter rooms.

Eventually, the debris was stabilized and, just two hours after the defeat of the reapers, a rescue operation by Alliance Pioneers recovered the giant piece of debris and evacuated the blast shelters. The major structural damage was repaired within a month, with Reaper wrecks providing most of the raw material. The Citadel was mostly restored within half a year, although the Council had just moved in half a month ago. Kelly, still mentally scarred, tried to help people with PTSD, and before soon she was working full-time as a psychotherapist.

Kelly tried to suppress the memory that just came up again, so she walked up to her cupboard and pulled out a bottle of Whiskey. She poured herself a glass, walking back over to the window from which she could see the better part of Zakera Ward, the Presidum and, most importantly, earth.

Suddenly, darkness returned and Kelly was back in the stasis pod in the collector base. She was stuck, her prison only marginally larger than her own body, and there was no escape. No escape. Stuck in a one-person-hell, her sense of time had lapsed. Was it minutes she was trapped? Was it centuries? There was no way to know. But then, light returned along with Shepard's face, and she was freed.

Kelly opened her eyes again. She was still in her apartment, not even having left the spot she was standing in. Just another flashback. Now, the whiskey seemed like an attractive method of escape. Kelly downed the whole glass. The game was on for the night, and Kelly headed to Purgatory.

**Nightclub "Purgatory", Citadel**

The entrance was lined with queues of waiting people, but Kelly could simply walk past them. Coming in every night, talking to the right people, had quickly earned her VIP-status. Here was her way out of her trauma, being with other people, drinking, dancing and chatting with them, usually even ending up together with someone to eventually spend the night with.

Soon, she found herself with a group of Alliance Academy students celebrating the last nights of inter-term vacation before they had return to their classes in Vancouver. Kelly quickly picked up speed and, after a few drinks, headed to the dancefloor with a student in tow. They danced for what seemed like only a moment to Kelly, yet was long enough to get her thirsty for another drink. The student was whisked away by her boyfriend, who, to Kelly's surprise had brought three drinks, one of which he handed to Kelly.

Kelly followed the couple, and took a seat beside them when they sat down at the edge of the student group. Chatting about mundane things, drinking even more and starting to dance for the group with three other women was in the further course of events. Kelly loved these situations, where she could let herself go and party away her pain. Soon, an eCig was passed around, and Kelly took part as well. Only after she had taken her drag, she noticed the C-Cartridge that was loaded in the place where normally a N-Cartridge would be.

Kelly did not mind the drugs she had just consumed, in fact they even helped her slide into the partying drift she had sought with such great vigour for the last hours. She would have to take a detox shot before she could take her MZP in the morning, but she didn't care, her focus being entirely on tonight.

Eventually, the student group left, and Kelly returned on her quest to find people to party with. Eventually, after minutes of wandering around, she stumbled upon a group of Turians that were on shore leave. After yet another round of drinks, she started to dance with one of the Turians, a Seargeant of the Hierarchy.

Before soon she found herself on a couch, somewhere in a quiet corner, with the Turian beside her. Everything went like automated now. Kelly noticed an Asari that had sat down on the other side of the Turian, turned to him. The next events went past Kelly, like in a dream. Strong arms carried her, face to face with the Asari that had joined them, into an apartment.

Only now, it was that her perception lapsed completely. Drunk, drugged and excited, she stumbled into the Turian's bedroom. There was the Asari, the Turian and herself; Kelly just barely remembered that she would need DextroZymes in the morning, to help her body deal with dextrochiral substances, and that she needed to take off her jewelry, three people in a meld often causing burns where conductive metals touched skin.

Then, the next thing Kelly remembered was waking up. She kissed the Turian and the still sleeping Asari goodbye, collected her clothes, retrieved her bracelet from her trouser pocket and left the Apartment. Only now, she noticed how much her head hurt, making her feel ill. She popped her MZP against her PTSD and analgesic pills against her headache into her mouth and swallowed. While most of her mornings were spent with a hangover, this was worse than usual. Her body still hurt in places she hadn't even known could hurt, all from last nights events. She knew, she had gone too far.

Then, she collapsed, passed out from the interaction between all the physiological ballast she had accumulated inside her during the last eight hours and her sanity-inducing MZP. As her vision of the world was reduced to a tiny tunnel above her, she could feel being transported into an ambulance before finally passing out.


	17. Holding Out For A Hero

**Presidium Commons, Citadel**

Samantha stepped out into the open, breathing in the cold, fresh air of the simulated morning. Her night had been short; she just couldn't switch off to sleep properly, something was plaguing her subconscious. Working for the Shadow Broker Network, which was by now serving the Council, in Signal Intelligence was tough and she frequently got to see things that would not let most people sleep well.

Liara was both a fair boss and a good friend, but sadly already spoken for by Shepard, so Samantha still had to find a woman to fill an emptiness that remained in her life.

The blooming willow tree planted on the edge of the balcony above Samantha let its yellow-whitish blossoms rain upon her as it was shaken by a breeze in the microclimate of the Presidium-Ring. The blossoms fell onto Samantha, covering her face and neck with petals and pollen. Samantha had to giggle like a schoolgirl as the blossoms tickled her.

Then, she inhaled another breath. Instantly, her mood darkened. The pollen filled her lungs and her airway was slowly swelling shut as her body's defence mechanism overreacted. She reached for her inhaler, but in vain: She had left it at her apartment.

The asthma-attack went on, and breathing became more difficult, all while her head filled with dizziness from the lack of air. Someone asked her if she needed help; she couldn't respond, only panicked gasps making their way out of her throat.

Eventually, the dizziness became too much, and her knees gave way. The world was dark now, and in her last moments of lucidity a cold feeling made its way through her body.

Two paramedics ran up to her, and, after a scan, quickly injected her with the Beta-2-Antagonists she had not been able to apply. She was, with an oxygen mask, transported into an ambulance. On the way to the hospital, she regained her consciousness, the cold oxygen-rich air that she was now breathing filled her lungs cleared her head.

**Huerta Memorial Hospital, Citadel**

Samantha sat up on the stretcher. The doctor had just left, and she was ready to leave again. On the way out, she overheard a doctor mention a name that she was, for some reason, familiar with: "Kelly Chambers".

Samantha had seen Kelly's files on the Normandy SR-2 and always imagined what she would be like in person. She wanted to meet her, get to know her and now, she had the chance. Looking through the open door, where the doctor was standing, she saw a woman lie on a bed. Could it be her?

She waited outside the door until the doctor left, then entered the room.

"Hello. Do I know you?", she was greeted by the woman.

Samantha looked at the woman. Her face looked just like on the surveillance footage on the Normandy and the Shadow Broker file Samantha had already read through so many times. She walked up to the bed: "Ms. Chambers? I am Lieutenant Traynor, serving under the Spectre Commander Sir John Shepard." She had to play it safe if she wanted to get to know Kelly. "I have some questions for you."

"Yes, that's me. What kind of questions? And no, I can't return to the Normandy. My PTSD's keeping me from that."

Samantha was both surprised but also strangely attracted by Kelly's brash answer. She continued: "Well, you have taken part in two missions that the Council is very interested in. Maybe you could tell me more about these missions. How did the mission beyond the Omega-4 relay start?"

This already proved to be too much for Kelly. Instantly, she started to cry: "They took me." The tears made her snivel. "They took me and put me in this - thing. There was nothing but darkness in there. I couldn't move. I was alone, in there for days."

Samantha realised she had gone too far. The crying woman that lay on the bed in front of her was a complete wreck, nothing like the Kelly she had read about and seen in the logs. Only now could Samantha understand what carrying such a great trauma had to be like. She leaned forward and put her arms around Kelly in an attempt to console her.

Kelly stopped crying, feeling the comfort and warmth of Samantha's body pressed against her own. "I'm sorry", she sobbed.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so insensitive", Samantha backpedalled: "I should get some tea. Do you want some?"

"I'd love that."

Soon, Samantha returned with a kettle of steaming Earl Grey and two cups. She pulled up a chair to Kelly's bed and sat down.

Kelly took a sip, then put the tea down again: "You drink Earl Grey and speak RP. You must be from England".

Samantha smiled: "Horizon actually. My parents are from England, but I grew up in the colony up there. I studied CS in Oxford, and after the war, my parents moved back to London. Horizon was quite messed up."

"Yeah. I did Psych at UCLA. L.A. took quite a beating too. I hear they just finished with the last major repairs."

"Yes, you're from L.A., I remember that from your files."

Kelly was confused: "My files? But I wiped my drive before Shepard turned the Normandy in."

"Yup. You did wipe it, but you only deleted the indexing. Took me just three minutes to restore your files. You seem to have an interesting extranet history for sure."

Kelly was visibly unnerved: "Oh. Well, I'm sorry for what you had to see."

Samantha brushed over Kelly's hand: "No, it's ok. Nothing wrong with your preferences. I mean I'm only into women, what should I find wrong with you?"

Kelly was relieved, but also excited. Samantha hadn't found the things Kelly was really embarrassed about. But also, she had been the first the person to really care about her in a year. Not just to get into her pants, but to actually get to know her. Maybe they could...

Samantha interrupted her train of thought: "What did you do to land in hospital?"

Kelly sighed: "Oh, I took a few drugs, drank a little too much, was one of three in an Asari bonding meld, slept too little and probably got a little bit of Turian inside me. Isn't even the first time this happened. I just spend six hours on advanced dialysis, then I go back home. Just the risks of the party life." Kelly lifted her left arm up, so that Samantha could see the dialysis lines she was hooked up to.

Samantha was shocked. This was not the Kelly she had known. "But why do that? You aren't going to last long this way."

"There's just no one else there in my life. There's like this void I want to fill, and I try night for night."

"And does it work?"

"Only for a short time. Eventually, I just can't keep up any more, and the illusion of happiness is destroyed. But, for eight hours, I get to be the goddess of the night. Dammit, the war really changed me. I went too far, but I can't stop. I just can't stop. If I do, the memories, they come back." Kelly was visibly fighting herself.

Samantha had a concerned look on her face: "Have you ever considered a more – enduring – solution?"

"Yes, but I can't. I am alone. Always so alone. Even if someone's in my bed, they aren't ever in my heart. It's so frightening to be alone, just like being in that stasis pod all over again."

Again, Kelly was overwhelmed by her feelings. And again, Samantha comforted her in an embrace, lasting longer than the first time. Feeling Samantha's body so close was something that could bring peace to Kelly's soul.

"Don't worry. I'm here. We can talk. Friends of Shepard are also my friends."

Kelly smiled, reminiscing: "Oh yes, Shepard. He was so nice to me, better than I probably deserve. He's saved my life three times now. We even had dinner together, but he just wanted to stay friends."

"Shepard, yes. I like him; it's just that he's a guy. If only he were a girl, I'd want to go further… I assume you wouldn't be deterred."

"Oh, no I wouldn't. But he's together with that Liara now. They're a cute couple." Kelly leaned back, sighing: "Oh yes, the Asari. An endless fascination for us humans. They are almost like women, except not really, so we can pretend that we are all absolutely, perfectly straight. Dammit, sometimes I would just want to Kinsey-test some of these 'perfectly straight' women.", she gestured with air quotes. Kelly was really in her element now.

Samantha chuckled loudly: "Asari, yes. They can be very nice, but also cold and calculating. Have you heard about how T'Suzsa got beaten in Kepesh-Yakshi?"

"Yea, that made the news. The Asari were quite upset, their best beaten by a mere human. Talk about cultural wounds. In that respect, they are very similar to humans."

"Yeah. Two months ago, she wanted a rematch. I won again, without Shepard's pep talk this time." Samantha smiled. "She was quite irate, apparently, but we ended up solving our differences."

"How did you do that?"

"Well, what do you think…?"

Kelly couldn't believe what Samantha was seemingly trying to imply: "You didn't really…"

Samantha smiled again: "Oh yes, I did."

Kelly took a deep breath: "Good for you. But come on, who are you even kidding at this point? You didn't come here to ask me about these two missions a year ago. You just wanted an excuse to talk to me."

Samantha stood up from the chair and came closer, sitting down on the bed smiling mischievously: "Well, maybe… Why don't we go out for dinner, and you find out for yourself?" She brushed over Kelly's hand and moved her head in closer.

Kelly wanted so say something, but before she could do so, Samantha had stood up from her bed and pulled out her CommPad. She sent her card to Kelly: "Call me if you want to meet up for dinner. I'll always have time for you."

Kelly smiled at Samantha: "Oh believe me, I'll call you."

With a smile on her face Samantha left. Kelly was elated too. Finally, a new door had opened in her life, and Samantha reaching out to Kelly through it. She looked over her shoulder, to the dialysis filter. There were still two hours to go, so Kelly pulled her blanket over herself, and closed her eyes for a nap.

In her dream, she was with Samantha, at the dinner. What would it be like to talk to her again? Would anything serious arise? Kelly certainly hoped it. Samantha was a hero, her hero, the one she had been holding out for so long.


End file.
